Clear Shot
by GymGirl904
Summary: Cammie and Zach were both Special Forces Snipers in the Army and at 22:30 hours the operative was spotted, here's what ensued. An unknown hero to a wounded Veteran, a trek across unstable land - all for a stranger, and a small town. Based off Ally Carter's young adult books, the Gallagher Girls series.
1. Chapter One: Shot in the Dark

**Clear Shot:**

**Based off Ally Carter's young adult books, the Gallagher Girls series.**

**Chapter One: Shot in the Dark.**

**18:30 hours on the night of November 17****th****:**

The noise surrounded me; it was everywhere. It was a sound of violence, blood, revenge. I could hear the screams of the men who had been hit, the shrieks of the civilian women as men carrying machine guns stormed their homes; the cries of young children who were ripped away from their families. It was brutal, but I suppose that's why I was doing this, right? I lay on my stomach on top of a hill above the village that was being terrorized. The masked men were hidden; I couldn't do anything but wait. Lay and wait until the perfect time came.

I could see men lying dead in the street, blood pooled around them. These men weren't soldiers; they were village men who were just trying to protect their families. A child, maybe six, walked over to a fallen man, kneeling down beside him. The boy picked up the gun that was still in this man's hand and put it on the ground. He then touched the man's face right next to where a bullet had pierced his forehead. The boy closed the man's eyes; he had died watching his attacker; face to face with the people who did this. There has always been something that has stayed with me about people who die with their eyes open. Probably has to do with the fact that that's how my father died; face up, eyes wide open. The only difference was the fact that his death hadn't been immediate.

Behind the boy a man stepped out of the building carrying a rifle. A mask sat on the top of the man's head, his face visible as if he wanted his victims to know exactly who he was. The man saw the boy, who was still turned away, and raised his gun. The cocking noise of the gun had the boy turning, neither of them hearing the same cocking noise in the distance. The boy stumbled back, just as the man drew nearer.

Bang.

The sound of a gun firing had become an everyday noise for me; I was used to the loud pop as the bullet left the barrel, the whizzing as it sailed through the air, straight into the target. The man went down, a bullet through his heart. The boy spun around as he looked up at me, I had just enough time to nod at him before a bullet whizzed right past me. I could feel the heat of it across my cheek. I turned to my right just as another bullet flew by.

Bang.

The man went down. This hit wasn't as straight, though; he stumbled for a second before falling to the ground dead.

It was just about dusk, smoke and shrieks still filled the air. Ten more men went down within the last two hours. It was calmer now, but not quiet. It was never quiet; not in a war zone. My job wasn't down there; it was up here, so that was where I stayed. One hour, two hours, three hours I had been there; waiting, watching.

_"__Cammie, do you copy?" _A voice in my ear rang clear through the unit in my left ear.

"I copy, sir. What is it?"

_"__I need you to leave your post and go down to the village."_

"You want me to leave my post, sir? For what, may I ask?"

_"__I need you on the bottom to treat the wounded."_

"Yes sir, I'm on my way."

With that I slung my rifle over my shoulder, grabbed my bag, and headed down the hill to the village. When I got there I headed into the closest house and searched for any wounded. No one was there, but there had definitely been a struggle. I headed off to the next house; all dead.

When I got to the seventh house I found three wounded. The father lie dead on the floor, a masked man dead beside him, but the mom and the two sons were huddled in the corner. When they saw me they tensed, I put my hands up over my head and cautiously made my way over to them.

"I'm here to help, okay? I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to check your injuries. Okay?" I spoke in their language because I knew that they wouldn't speak English.

The woman nodded and I knelt down in front of her. I slid off my pack and placed my rifle on the floor, the neck strap spread out on the floor next to it. I opened my pack and pulled out my medical bag, unzipping it and laying it open on the concrete floor. The woman had a flesh wound in her side, painful but not life threatening at this point.

"This is going to hurt. I'm going to remove the bullet that's still lodged in your side and then I'm going to clean it. Ready?" The woman nodded again as I proceeded to pull on the medical gloves. "What's your name?" I asked in an attempt to distract her from the pain she was about to endure.

"Jolene," she hissed. "Jolene Emerson." I pulled the bullet from her right side and put it in a clear plastic baggy.

"That's a pretty name. I'm Cammie, Cammie Morgan. What are your guy's names?"

"I'm Dalton, and this is my younger brother Damian." I smiled.

"Well it's very nice to meet you Dalton and Damian.'

"Ms. Cammie, can I ask you a question?" Damian asked, shyly.

"Yes you may." It was so cute, this four year old being so polite. There aren't that many four year olds out there like that.

"What are you going to do with that bullet?"

"Well, I was probably just going to throw it away, but if you want it as a souvenir for what you guys lived through that would be okay." Damian nodded and I handed the little bag to him. He muttered a quiet 'thank you' as I turned back to his mother. "This is going to hurt a lot also, but I have to sterilize the wound." I poured some rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and gently dabbed it over the wound. She hissed again and I started talking to distract her. "What's your husband's name?"

"His name is Ian, he was an amazing man. He meant everything to the boys, to me."

"He was a hero. He died protecting you. Losing someone you love is never easy, but remember he died as a hero. His death was not in vain."

"Thank you for that. That means everything to me." She smiled in appreciation and patted my hands.

"You're the person from the hill aren't you? You're the one who saved me."

"Yeah, that was me," I said, looking over at Dalton.

"You killed that man."

"I did, but for a good reason. He was a bad man and he was going to kill you. I couldn't let that happen."

"Why?"

"Because you're young, you haven't lived your life yet. You should get a chance to see the world and to do something. You're special, that's why." He smiled.

"You have so much courage, no fear. I would have been scared."

"I never said I wasn't scared. Being in a war zone is always scary. Bullets flying everywhere, but you have to stay calm and just keep going. There's a quote I like that states: 'courage is not the absence of fear, it's the conquest of fear.' It's normal to be afraid, but sometimes you just have to push through and keep going."

Before anyone could say anything there was a noise behind me, the cocking of a gun. I didn't think I just acted. I spun around, picking up my gun as I turned, and shot.

Bang.

He was dead before he hit the ground. When I turned back around they were all staring wide-eyed. Damian moved a little further back into the corner, but Dalton, although in shock, seemed to know that I wouldn't hurt them. He placed a hand on his brother's knee to help calm him.

"I'm going to clean your wound, Dalton, okay?" He had a slash mark on his face, like from a knife. He nodded his head.

"Will it scar?"

"Probably, but some girls like scars; besides it makes you look tough."

"Okay," was his only answer.

Damian still looked cautious towards me, but he leaned forward to watch me clean his brother's wound.

A few minutes later, after I'd cleaned the knife wound I looked back over my shoulder to where her husband still lay.

"May I?" I asked as I turned back to the mother. She nodded.

I got up and walked over to the far side of the room and knelt beside her husband. He wore a metal necklace with his name on a tag at the end. I undid the clasp from his neck and brought it back over to Jolene.

"This was your husband's necklace, it was a part of him, so it's a part of you. Grief is never easy, but when you have something to hold onto it can be easier. If you're ever overwhelmed with grief just look at this and remember that Ian died a hero. He will forever be in your heart."

She smiled up at me as I gently slid it into her open palm. Her fingers closed around the cool metal and she held it to her chest.

"Thank you. You seem like you know what this grief is like."

"Yeah, something like that. I should probably be going now, but I have something I want to give to your sons if that's okay."

"That would be fine, but really, you don't have to do anything else. You've already done enough."

"Oh it's no problem." I opened the smallest pocket in my back pack and pulled out two metal dog tags on the end of a metal chain. There was an engraving of an army base symbol and the words: _Platoon #242 Special Forces Sniper. _"My boss had me clean out an old storage closet to make room for more beds and I found these old dog tags. We have the same ones, but they're the newer ones, we don't use these anymore. He said I could keep them and do whatever I wanted, and I thought that they might want them." I held them out and the two boys were hesitant at first, but then grabbed a hold of them. They placed them around their necks and smiled up at me. I smiled back.

"It was nice meeting you Cammie Morgan. It's been a pleasure. Please, stay safe."

"Thank you. It was nice to meet you guys, too. Stay safe as well."

With that I slung my rifle and pack over my shoulder and headed out the door to go see if others needed help. Some people weren't wounded, but others weren't so lucky. There were so many instances where they were all slaughtered, or that most of the family was killed. It was late when I finally got out of the village. In the distance I could hear gun fire coming from another town over. To the south, over the hill, there was an orange glow from a fire, and a slight smell of smoke, but it wasn't close enough to worry about. I climbed back up onto the hill I had been on and resumed my position: stomach to the ground, gun out in front of me, ears and eyes trained in every direction, waiting.

**22:30 hours on the night of November 17****th****:**

The canvas of trees was my cover, I could see the town clearly, lights shown from the lampposts and stores still had their lights on. It was pitch black up here in the trees, just the rustle of leaves and the noises of the night. I could hear my breath against the silent night, and then the snapping of a twig just a short ways away. I held my breath and listened, waiting to see if the person was coming towards me or if they'd noticed me. I could see enough of the person against the darkness to know it was male. He was wearing an army green shirt and pants, which hinted that he was on my side, but not from the same platoon. The moon was high against the vast space of sky before it disappeared behind a cloud.

I heard a few clicks like something was locking into place; sniper. It was quiet, something that was different to me. I was always so used to the constant noise of gunfire and screams. Mystery Guy was crouched against the outline of the trees. I wouldn't have known he was there if I hadn't seen him earlier.

Bang.

A shot rang out through the town, it echoed in the silence, and a moment later I saw Mystery Guy fall. The moon had started to peak out from behind the cloud and it was right in the place where Mystery Guy once crouched. I saw a flicker from the roof across the street and aimed.

Bang.

The sniper from the building fell, I could see that much, but I didn't wait around. I quickly packed up my rifle, disengaging it in record speed, and grabbed my bag before I ran to the guy on the hill.

He lay on his back with his hand on his shoulder, his head off the ground. He was struggling with consciousness and it seemed with breath, too. His eyes kept closing, and each time he opened them it seemed that it was harder for him to do so. I kneeled in front of him and put pressure to the wound in his shoulder. Blood soaked through his shirt and onto my fingers as I applied pressure.

"Stay with me, stay with me." That's about all I said. I didn't have a name to go with the face, which I finally got a good look at - symmetrical face, square jaw, strong features. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and was incredibly muscular; his muscles were taut under his shirt. "Keep your eyes open, look at me. Stay with me."

His eyes closed, fluttered, and then fell again. His muscles relaxed and his head went back to the ground. Damn it he was unconscious.

I quickly pulled out my medical kit, put pressure on his wound, and tried to wrap it as best I could in the situation. The moon was gone again, so there wasn't much light to work by, but I managed. I knew I had to get him out of there; he'd already lost enough blood, and without medical attention there was a chance that he would die. I quickly opened his bag and saw that there was a medical kit as well, and that's where I decided to leave my stuff behind and just carry his. He was quite bigger than me and very muscular, and I knew that every ounce of my training would be put into use to carry him to the nearest hospital, which was a few miles south, away from the village. I hid my stuff in the under foliage by the nearest tree and put his bag over my shoulder, and his gun strap around my neck. The good thing was that the bleeding had almost stopped with what I'd done, but I knew that it wouldn't last forever. I tried my ear piece, but there was nothing; it must have been turned off, or the signal was just lost. With that I picked him up and lifted him onto my shoulder. He was heavy, but I started walking anyways just as the sound of more gunfire lit up the sky. It would be a long trek across unstable land with the fallen soldier over my shoulder, but that thought was what kept me going into the night.

**Author's Note: Today's my birthday and the one year anniversary that I got my FanFiction account, posted on my profile page, and posted my first story, so I thought today was a great day to post the first chapter of a new story I'm doing. In fact it's my first story on FanFiction, all my other stories have been One-Shots. **

**Today is also the seven month anniversary of the day I relapsed with Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome, so if anybody out there has a chronic illness, or is just having a hard time just know that you can do anything you put your mind to and never lose hope because it will get better. I hope you guys liked this first chapter.**

**Quote: "Strength of character isn't always about how much you can handle before you break, it's also about how much you can handle after you've broken." - Unknown.**

**-GymGirl904. **


	2. Chapter Two: Everyone Needs Saving

**Chapter Two: Everyone Needs Saving.**

By the time I reached the nearest hospital I had been walking for hours with the mystery guy over my shoulder. My legs were weak, and right after I placed him on the gurney a nurse had brought outside I collapsed and fell to the ground in a heap. It had started to get hazy out, the sun would rise in about an hour, and unlike everywhere else, it was calm, silent. The trees swayed and a dog walked by, his tongue hung out of his mouth.

"Here," a nurse said as she handed me a bottle of water. "You must be thirsty." I took the water and then looked back over at the dog that had found a place to lay under one of the trees.

"I'll only drink this if you give that dog some water as well and some food." She looked taken aback and then went to argue, but I stopped her. "If this has to do with what food you have you don't have to worry. I have some power bars in my bag. Give my meal to the dog." She nodded before stepping back and allowing me to stand up. I brushed myself off and uncapped the water. It felt good going down my dry throat. The nurse looked at me the whole time.

"We should go check you out, miss. Make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. I want to know how the young man that I brought in is." We started walking into the hospital and the nurse, Jenny the other nurses called her, told me that they had taken him into surgery. He'd lost a lot of blood, but if it hadn't been for me he wouldn't have made it to a hospital alive.

Jenny told another nurse, Christine, to give the dog under the tree my food and some water. She nodded before hurrying off to get it done. Jenny turned back to me.

"How far did you walk with him on your back?" she questioned and looked back at me as we made our way into a small exam room.

"Miles," I replied. I didn't know how many, I just knew that it was a lot. "All I know is that I was walking for hours," I clarified.

"I have no idea how you could do that, miss; no idea."

"I guess just strong will and determination. Plus I've had a lot of training for this kind of stuff."

"Yes, but no matter how much training you have it never prepares you for the real world. I imagine that in training you didn't have to walk for hours with dead weight on your back. I just can't imagine." She shook her head and then pointed to my clothes. "Strip; I'll be back in a few minutes to check you out."

"I already told you I was fine."

"Yes, but you did save a man's life today. And even if I have to hold you down to check you out I will."

"Okay," I said, putting my hands in the air as surrender. She laughed, before walking out of the room allowing me to change.

She came back in and started to check me out. There were just some scrapes and scratches on me, nothing too big. There were some nice sized bruises on my back and she put some cream on those to help them heal faster. Then she started to wash my hair.

"I thought your hair was brown," she said as I dried my hair.

"No, it's always been dirty blond. There was just a lot of dirt in it."

"Yeah, I couldn't even see any of your actual hair color. What happened?"

"Sand storm, sweat, and then rain combined. It was an interesting journey."

"I can imagine." She handed back my stuff, and I changed into new clothes.

"Can I see him?" I asked, "Is he awake?"

"I'm afraid not, he's been unconscious the whole time, but he's out of surgery I could show you to his room. We normally don't let people in to see patients if they're not related, but in your case we'd be happy to allow it. You did save this man's life."

We walked down hallways, past empty rooms, and down more corridors. He was on the other side of the building by a set of doors that led outside. The room had a view of the trees, one tree in particular that had a dog under it, lapping up water from a bowl. I smiled.

"Do you know his name?" Jenny asked as we walked into his room. It was small, had one bed in the center, a table and a few chairs, and a nice view. There was a nightstand next to the bed that held a lamp and almost nothing else.

"I'm afraid not," I answered her question once I remembered that she had asked it. "I don't even know him, I just saw him go down." She nodded and then left the room. A few minutes later another nurse came in with stuff in her hands.

"This was everything that was on him, and his bags are beside the bed." I thanked her and she left.

I walked over to the table and set his things down. Among his belongings was a necklace similar to the one that I had; they were dog tags. We all had one for identification if anything happened to us. I looked his over. One of the tags had his basic information on it: his name, age, date of birth, where he was from, etc., and the other one had his platoon information on it: his job, platoon number, and the symbol of his base.

******_Zachary Goode - Maine_**

**_Twenty-two years old_**

**_August 1, 1992._**

**_Special Forces Sniper_**

**_Platoon #373_**

**_Symbol: Two crossed rifles with a rose in the center._**

I placed Zach's things on the chair in the corner that was next to his bed. I set his bags on top of his clothes and went over to sit at the small table. Jenny came back in and wondered if she could ask some questions about what happened. I nodded and she came over and sat at the table, taking out a pencil and note pad.

"What time was he shot?"

"He was shot at 22:30 hours on the night of November 17th."

"Okay, where were you located when he was shot and what happened?"

"I was on the hill that overlooked the town of Tayma. He came to the same hill that I was on just a ways down. The moon caught him just right and there was an opposing sniper on the top of a building. He was shot and went down."

"Okay, thank you. And you don't know his name?"

"I actually found it in his belongings. His name is Zachary Goode. He belongs to platoon #373." She nodded and wrote it down. She thanked me and then got up and left.

I sat there for a while thinking, and at the same time I watched the rise and fall of his chest. After several minutes I got up, my legs aching as I did so. I walked the short distance to the nurse's station and asked if I could use their phone. I headed outside to sit under a tree. I sat down next to the sleeping dog and dialed a number I knew by heart. On the third ring someone picked up.

"Townsend." No hello, just the name. That's always how he picked up.

"It's Cameron."

"Where are you? The signal went out, and then you didn't come back and when I sent someone to the spot you were last at they found your bag hidden and nothing else."

"There was a change of plans. Another sniper showed up, from platoon #373. He got shot. I took him to the hospital."

"That was last night." His voice was gruff. He wasn't the mushy type, either, not by a long shot.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, sir. I just arrived at the hospital about an hour ago."

"You walked all night?" There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yes sir."

"It must have been slow walking having to help him along."

"No sir."

"No?" Confusion rang in his voice this time. "It was not slow walking helping him along?"

"Well yes it was slow walking, but I wasn't helping him along. I had to carry him, he was unconscious, sir." The dog woke up and came closer to me. I reached over and scratched his ears. He seemed to like that.

"You carried him all night?"

"Yes. The only thing I could do to keep him alive was to get him medical attention."

"Will he survive?"

"Yes, he lost a lot of blood, but he'll make a full recovery." There was a pause on his end of the line.

"Good job Ms. Morgan; very good job." Pride rang through in his voice. "What hospital are you at?"

"I'm at the hospital in Ariel, but I was planning on staying here for a little while just to make sure he's fine if that's alright."

"That's fine. I'll have Drew go by there later and just drop off your stuff, so when you do come back to base you'll have your supplies."

"Thank you, Townsend."

"You're welcome."

With that I hung up and turned my attention to the German Shepard that was looking at me. He still had a little bit of water left, but not a lot. He tilted his head to the side and I smiled. He was soft, and well behaved. I sat there for a while longer, relishing in the feel of the breeze against my achy skin. It was hot outside, especially for being November, but being in the desert it was always hot. I stood up and made my way back into the hospital; first I got more water for the dog, and second I went and checked in on Zach. He was still unconscious, nothing new had happened. Jenny said that they'd notified his base that he was here and they said they'd be there the following afternoon.

I asked if I could get some blank paper and a pencil, and I went back out to the tree to draw. Ranger, I decided to name him, was happy to see me and trotted over. I spent the rest of the day drawing, listening to the sounds around me, and talking to Ranger.

It was late in the afternoon when I headed back into the hospital. Just as I reached Zach's room Drew walked up from the opposite direction carrying my stuff. I smiled and took my stuff from him, setting them down on one of the chairs. We talked for a while until he had to go back to base. We said our goodbyes and I sat in the chair next to Zach's bed for the whole night.

I left the next day around noon. He wasn't awake yet, so I left him the picture I'd drawn under the tree. It was an hourglass that read: _You can't steal time, so make every moment count. Recover quickly. –CAM._

I left it on the nightstand with his dog tags on top of it, gathered my things and left. I smiled to the nurses and walked out to the tree. Ranger was sitting waiting for me and when I started to walk past he followed. Jenny walked by and I asked if he belonged to anybody. She didn't know where he had come from, but he'd been hanging out at the hospital for a few months now.

I said goodbye to her and continued on. Once again he followed, and I didn't have the heart to leave him behind. The base could use a guard dog, and he could be our companion. It would be a few hours walk, but it was quicker not having to carry someone. Ranger trotted alongside me the whole way, and we only stopped for food and water breaks. We made it back to the base where I was debriefed on what happened; from the time I saw Zach to when I left the hospital.

After my debriefing I went and took a long, hot bath trying to soothe my still aching muscles. I only had six more months until I got to go home, six more months.

**Author's Note: I hope you liked Chapter Two of Clear Shot and I hope that everyone has a great week.**

**Quotes: "It is during our darkest moments we must focus to see the light." –Aristotle. "Faith is what our heart sees when all our eyes see is darkness." – Unknown.**

**-GymGirl904.**


	3. Chapter Three: Coming Home

**Chapter Three: Coming Home.**

**Date of May 20****th.**

Number of hours I was on a plane: Twenty-eight.

Number of hours I was sitting total: Thirty-six.

Number of hours I slept: Eight.

Number of times I thought of my family: Fifty-six.

Number of times I thought about Zachary Goode and where he ended up: Fifteen.

Number of times I thought of Ranger in his kennel in the cargo hold: Ten.

Number of times I played with my dog tags: Seventy-five.

The plane back home to Virginia was long, combined with layovers, and flight changes it was even longer. Not to mention somewhere in the middle I had to take a taxi to a different airport and wait for that plane. I'd met a lot of interesting people, though. One girl was coming home after being away for four years for school. A man was on a business trip and it was his first time flying. Needless to say he was a bit nervous, not only of the presentation he had to do, but also of flying. Lastly, I sat next to an elderly woman who was recently widowed and loved to chat. She was an interesting character and I learned a lot about her life. From the time she was three to her latest trip. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but it was partly because I was just excited to be able to see my family again. It had been a little over a year since I'd seen them. We'd exchanged letters over the months, but we weren't able to talk any.

When I finally landed I grabbed my duffel bag and Ranger and headed out of the airport. I'd carried my backpack onto the plane; it held my money, a change of clothes, and my phone. I went to the baggage claim to grab the other bag that contained my issued piece and my knife along with some more of my clothes. I made my way to a taxi that allowed animals and told the cab driver to take me into the middle of town.

Thirty minutes later I stepped out and walked the streets. It was a busy day; people mulled about and shopped, and enjoyed the air-conditioned stores. Being the middle of May it was hot; street vendors lined the streets selling fried things, roasted things, and cold drinks. In the town square there was a huge fountain where people gathered, some with their feet dangling in the cool water; pennies littered the bottom. Just beyond the fountain I saw my best friends, Bex, Liz, and Macey. Their backs were turned away from me, but they were looking for something; someone. I came up behind them just as Macey spoke.

"I don't see her. She wrote a letter a few weeks ago saying that she would meet us here at two thirty." I looked at my watch; it was now three o'clock. I got in later than I had expected.

"Do you think something happened? Do you think she'll have her phone on her?"

"I don't know, Bex, she's been gone for a year. I don't even think it's charged."

"Why don't you ask her," I spoke behind them and they all whipped around.

"Cammie!" They all yelled throwing their arms around me. I laughed and dropped my bags and hugged them back. When we pulled back Liz was the first one to notice Ranger.

"Um, Cammie, there's a dog following you around." I laughed again. They hadn't changed much, just the little things, taller, stronger, bigger. I was glad to see that Liz had put on a few more pounds.

"This is Ranger. I found him in Ariel when I was at their hospital. He followed me back to base and they let me keep him."

"Ranger, huh, I wonder where you got the idea for that name," Bex laughed.

"It probably has something to do with army. You know range, distance, sniper, Ranger."

"Mace, I think that was a rhetorical question," Liz piped up, looking at Macey knowingly.

"I know that. I just felt like answering."

"Oh."

We stood there talking for a while longer, catching up on everything that had happened in the last twelve months. Liz got a promotion at work and her new partner was male, (her other partner switched companies). Macey did a fashion shoot for a charity to help sick kids, and another one to help animals in pounds. She recently got a new job as security for one of the power-people that lived here in Roseville, and Bex had just gotten back from a trip to London to visit her family. She'd met a guy, dated him, and then dumped him because he was a 'low-life.'

"Okay guys, how about we go down to the bar for drinks and we can catch up some more. It's on me."

"That sounds good, Cam. We're so happy to see you."

"I'm happy to see you guys again, too."

We hugged once again, and I saw a glint to my left. Ranger barked and I looked over, extracting myself from the hug. They looked at me questioningly, but I didn't say anything as I looked at the guy who was walking down the street with another guy. Ranger barked again and the guy looked over. Ranger moved towards him and I whistled, calling him back; he trotted back over to me. My eyes met his, Special Forces Sniper, Zachary Goode. There was another glint and I caught sight of the dog tags that hung around his neck. He was wearing a sage green short sleeve shirt that just showed a tattoo that was wrapped around his bicep.

"Cammie, what's wrong?" Bex's voice brought me back to my three best friends who were looking at me concerned.

"Nothing, I thought I saw something." I did see something. "Shall we go now?" They nodded. I turned and started walking behind them to the local bar down the street. I turned back to see him still staring at me, Ranger still sat there looking Zach's way and I called to him. I turned back around and continued on with my friends, Ranger trotted beside me.

I moved the strap of my duffel further up my shoulder with only one question running through my mind: what was Zachary Goode doing in Roseville, Virginia?

**Author's Note: On Thursday it was the thirteenth anniversary of when 9/11 happened, for anyone who lost someone in 9/11 I'm sorry and for those who risked their lives to save others, thank you, you guys are heroes.**

**Another thing - Cammie's dog, Ranger, was named not only because it fit in the story, but he is also named after one of my best friend's dog. I hoped you guys liked Chapter Three of Clear Shot.**

**Quote: "Life is… flowing through you, flowing through me. Let it flow without resisting. Let it control you. Surrender until you become one with it." – Roxanna Jones.**

**-GymGirl904.**


	4. Chapter Four: Bridges

**Chapter Four: Bridges.**

As we were just getting to the bar I got a call from Townsend. I told my friends that I would be there in a minute as I took the call.

"Hey, Townsend, you miss me already?" I teased.

"Very funny; I was just calling to make sure you got in okay."

"Oh, so you were worried about me."

"Cameron," he growled out.

"Relax; I worry about you, too. It's normal."

"Cameron, did you or did you not get in okay?"

"I got in fine; I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

"I'm not, ugh…" he said exasperated. I laughed. "Have a good break, Ms. Morgan."

"Townsend?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too." He was my boss; he was the one who always looked out for me.

"Good-bye Cammie."

"Bye Townsend."

Just as I had hung up and placed my phone back in my pocket I felt someone lightly grab my arm, and it was a big hand; male. I guess I was still a little jumpy as I swung around; bringing my knee up in the process. He grabbed my knee in his large hand and I rotated, bringing him down to the ground with a thud. My right knee was placed against his ribs and my full weight was pressed against him. He brought his hand to my leg once again, which I was hoping he would do, and I swung my other leg around; the middle of my leg landing against his throat. I leaned back, bringing his arm with me, he hissed. With enough force I could break his elbow.

He rolled to the right, pinning me to the ground with his knees trapping my legs. That's when I finally looked up at him, dark hair, strong, and with deep eyes.

"Relax." His voice was deep when he spoke. "I guess that's my fault for sneaking up on someone who just came back from the army." He let go of my hands and stood up, reached his hand out for me, and pulled me up. "I'm Zach. Zachary Goode." Yeah, I know - I almost wanted to say, but instead I shook his outstretched hand.

"Cammie Morgan." He smiled.

"I didn't mean to startle you, sorry, but one of your friends dropped this access card and I thought they might want it back." He pulled out a plastic card with a metal strip on the back; Liz.

"Thanks," I said taking it from his hand. "And I'm sorry for flipping out on you."

"It's expected." We stood there for a minute in silence before he spoke again. "What specialty were you?" Before I could even open my mouth another guy walked up behind Zach.

"Hey," he said looking more at me than Zach. I recognized him as the guy Zach was with on the street. He was army, definitely army. He had the look, and the muscle, and he was wearing dog tags, too.

"Hi," I said, smiling as he looked at Zach and then back at me. "I'm Cammie," I introduced myself to his friend.

"Grant."

"It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

"Thanks again for this," I said, holding up the card. Zach nodded. Ranger decided now was a good time to jump on Zach; his front paws reached his chest. Zach laughed and petted him.

"Hey, Shepard," he said, scratching behind Ranger's ears. "What's the name?"

"His name is Ranger."

"Ranger, that's a nice name."

"Thanks."

"Anyways, I'll let you get back to your friends. It was nice meeting you, and welcome home."

"You, too; welcome home." I smiled and turned away, heading to the back door of the bar.

"He seems like a good dog, but I'm pretty sure they might have a problem with him."

"Thanks, but I think he'll be fine. I know the owners." I turned back around and headed inside, giving a hug both to my mom and Joe. Then I went over to the corner where my friends were sitting, drinks already in front of them.

**Two Weeks Later:**

"Hey, Cammie, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me down to the river, grab a snack, talk," Bex said as she walked into the living room where I was currently sitting on the couch watching a re-run of some crime show.

"Yeah, that sounds good; give me a minute to change." I hopped up and headed down the hall. I was almost to my door when I heard her British voice shout out.

"Oh, by the way, I took all your clothes and put them through the wash. They aren't yet dry." I laughed to myself as I saw my empty closet.

"Thanks Bex," I yelled back as I rummaged through my duffel; the clothes were clean they just hadn't been put in my drawers yet. I pulled out a pair of my old army capris, and a plain army green t-shirt. I walked out of the room, pulling my hair into a pony. I met up with Bex in the hallway, I grabbed my phone and slipped on some flip-flops, and we headed out, Ranger right at my heels.

The day was nice. It was early June, people walked around enjoying the day. Kids sat on picnic blankets licking dripping ice-cream cones; adults ran by for a morning jog. Chatter rose in the air, and the smell of corndogs filled my senses. Bex and I walked along the side of the river; we talked about her job, (she was finally getting respect for her part on the Roseville Police Department).

"Hey, Cammie?"

"Yeah?" We'd stopped now; leaning against the railing to the bridge that overlooked the clear river. People floated by in inflatable rafts; their laughter floated up to us.

"I'm glad you're back, we all are. I'll be honest with you; sometimes when it took you a while to reply back I got scared, thought the worst thing possible happened, and I'm just so happy your home." She took another bite out of her corndog and I did the same as she gave me a small smile.

"I'm glad I'm home, too, Bex, I really missed you guys."

The conversation carried on, lighter than before. I looked around and spotted Zach and Grant walking down the dirt path, before they stopped. I hadn't seen Zach since the first day I'd gotten back, when he introduced himself to me outside the bar.

"Who's that?" Bex asked after a moment of me just looking at him.

"He's the one who found Liz's security card and gave it to me outside the bar the first day I got back."

"He's cute." I laughed.

"Bex, I think it's safe to say that he's a little more than cute."

"A little more?" Her eyebrow rose up as she looked at me.

"Okay, he's hot."

"Oh, so you like him."

"Bex, there's a difference in saying someone's attractive and being attracted to them. Besides, I don't know him." I don't know him a lot anyways. A part of me wanted to tell her about what had happened six months earlier, how we had met, but I didn't; it just didn't feel right. I looked back over to where the two stood and saw him looking up at us; I nodded to him and he smiled back.

"Yep you definitely like him." I had just opened my mouth to reply, but I never got the chance before I heard a shriek and whipped my head around to see two kids in the middle of the river. They were both young and it didn't look like they could swim that well.

I reacted on instinct; I kicked off my shoes, pushed my phone into Bex's hands, and dropped the snack I was eating. In two seconds I had hopped up onto the railing; I could hear Bex yelling behind me, Ranger had started barking, and I saw Zach look up just as I dove into the cool water.

When I came back up for air a good distance away from the bridge I could still hear Ranger barking, but I kept going trying to reach the young children as they flailed about. From the corner of my eye I saw someone dive in from the shore - Zach. I could hear the sound of people shouting, and I could hear the sound of Zach's and my feet hitting the water as we closed in on the kids, but most of all I could hear the sounds of the kids panicking. I could see them bob, sink, and then flail again as they barely pulled themselves back up out of the water. The little boy sputtered, getting water in his mouth.

We reached the kids at the same time; I grabbed a hold of the girl as Zach grabbed a hold of the boy and we started to swim them back to shore. I had to calm the girl down several times because she kept almost hyperventilating.

"It's okay. I've got you now; nothing's going to happen. You'll make it back to shore with me and you'll be okay. Just relax; I've got you." She listened, relaxing slightly against my strong hold as I pulled her back to shore. I looked over and saw Zach saying something to the little boy, but I couldn't hear what because by this time people had gathered having heard the commotion. Once we reached the edge Grant bent down and helped pull the first kid out. Bex ran up a second later and helped get the other kid out with Grant's assistance. I pulled myself up out of the water and climbed out. I was dripping wet, but that didn't stop Bex from throwing her arms around me.

"I had no clue what the bloody hell you were doing at first, you should have said something."

"Bex, if I had said something it would have wasted critical seconds." Bex then handed me my shoes and phone.

"Thank you, thank you so much," a woman practically sobbed. "Thank you for saving them."

"It was no problem, ma'am. I'm just glad I was there to help." She flung her arms around me and pulled me to her. After a minute I hugged her back and, looking over her shoulder I saw the two kids wrapped in towels, but I also saw Zach talking to a guy that was presumably the dad. He looked over at me and smiled with a little nod of his head; I smiled back.

After the mother pulled back and said thank you once again I turned and started walking away with Bex. I never had a chance to talk to Zach, though; the mother was now flinging herself at him. I scratched between Ranger's ears as we walked back down the dirt path.

**Author's Note: First, I just want to say that the self-defense move that was mentioned in the beginning of the chapter is an actual move. My mom's sister, my aunt, had three boys and all three boys went into the army. The youngest just got out of the army this year and while we were at their house he taught me a few maneuvers and when he taught me this specific one I knew that I had to put it into Clear Shot. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**

**On Thursday I took my French Final from last year, since I was unable to finish it last semester due to my Chronic Fatigue. So, I am officially caught up for this school year!**

**Quote: "Giving up doesn't always mean that you are weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough to let go." – Unknown. "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." – Confucius.**

**-GymGirl904. **


	5. Chapter Five: On the Rocks

**Chapter Five: On the Rocks.**

I got a call from Joe asking me if I could tend the bar while he was out on an errand for work; my mom was going with him. I headed down to the bar and decided to walk in the front, smiling at the sign over the top of the door: M&M's. It wasn't only for my love for the chocolate candy, but when I thought about them I thought of my father. Matthew Andrew Morgan; MAM; it always sounded like M&M to me when I was little.

As I stepped through the door a little bell went off and the air-conditioned room hit me. My mom was in the back putting away glasses.

"Hey, kiddo," my mom said, looking up at me as I set my stuff down.

"Hey, mom, how's it going?"

"It's hot, but it's been going pretty well so far today. I'm sorry you had to come in today on such short notice."

"Non-sense, I don't have anything else productive to do anyways." She smiled as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. She kissed my cheek and grabbed her stuff.

"Thank you, I love you," she said as she headed out the door.

A few hours later, when it was almost closing time (there was thirty minutes left), the bell went off at the front. I looked up expecting to see anyone else but the person who came in.

"So you're stalking me now, huh?" He laughed and took a seat.

"Actually I'll count it as a coincidence and say it's a small world."

"Small town's more like it. What can I get for you, Zach?"

"I don't know, surprise me." He smiled at me, leaning into the counter. The muscles in his arms bulged, and his shirt moved up giving me a nice view of the tattoo on his arm; it was a dagger with a vine wrapped around his bicep. He caught me looking. "I might be stalking you, but you're the one checking out my muscles." I laughed.

"Oh so you admit you're stalking me, and I wasn't checking out your muscles I was looking at your tattoo."

"Oh, right. That's what they all say."

"Oh, really?" I raised my eyebrow as I got him his drink and set it down in front of him.

"Well, actually no, you're one of the firsts."

"Oh so I'm special then." I didn't know where this was coming from, but it was easy flirting with him; it came naturally.

"I guess you could say that," he said, taking a sip of the drink. "What is this?"

"A 007 Martini." I smiled at his quizzical look. "It has gin and vodka." He looked surprised. "Oh come on, you told me to surprise you, and it looks like I did." He laughed before taking another sip.

"So, are you going to ask?" I looked up at him confused.

"What?" I took a small jar out from under the bar and a glass tray and dumped a handful of green olives into it. I took one and ate it as he replied.

"The tattoo, you want to ask about it." I shrugged. "Oh, come on we both know you're a curious person. Most people would ask right off the bat, but you're different."

"Okay, so I'm interested, but it's not my place to ask. You can tell me if you want to, but I won't press for it." We were silent for a minute, the only noise was of the fans overhead and the other people that were still in the bar.

"The dagger is a symbol. It's not just a sign of protection; it also symbolizes strength, and honor, and to serve this Country. It's also to symbolize that you have the power to do what you want; for good and for bad, and it's up to you to decide what you do with the power you're given. I think it should be remembered as what we went through in the army."

"You're an Army Boy and a part of you always will be."

"Exactly, just like you will always have that instinct to protect. I saw the way you jumped up onto the ledge of the bridge. I heard your friend screaming, looked over, and there you were diving into the water. You saved their lives."

"So did you, without you I didn't know how I was going to get both of them to shore, so thank you."

"There's no need to thank me; I just did what you did."

We were silent as I pulled out a beer from the fridge behind me, popped the lid and took a sip of the cool drink. Zach took an olive from the tray and popped it in his mouth.

"Are you supposed to be drinking while on the job?"

"Well, it's almost closing time, so I think it's fine, and I don't actually work here. I'm just filling in for my mom." He nodded.

"So, do you know why the bar is called M&M's?" he asked after he swallowed. I laughed.

"Actually my mom and aunt own the bar; it's called M&M's because I always loved them, still do, but my dad also really liked them, so they named the bar that." He laughed, taking another sip of his drink.

"So does that mean you're from around here?"

"I've lived here most of my life, we moved right before I started seventh grade. We lived in DC before that, though. What about you; where are you from?"

"Maine, my mom sent me to go to school there." His expression changed darker than it was a minute ago. It must have been a tough subject.

"What was your school called?"

"Blackthorne," was his simple answer. "What was your school called?"

"Gallagher, it's here in Roseville."

"Nice, I might just have to look it up and see this Gallagher for myself."

"Go right ahead."

We both took another sip of our drinks; Zach finished his right as the bell at the front went off. I looked around him to see my mom walking into the bar. She saw me, and then her eyes widened when she saw Zach. She stayed at the front, though, and began to stack the chairs. We were the only people left in the bar by now, and every other employee was gone for the night, too.

"I'm not getting you in trouble am I?" he asked as he looked back at my mom who was now towards the middle of the bar.

"No you're fine; you're with me, anyways."

"Oh, I'm with you am I?" He gave me a look, a raised eyebrow, and a slight smirk.

"You know what I mean," I said, but I couldn't help laughing; he smiled. My mom looked over at us again, threw a wink my way, and went back to what she was doing.

"Thank you for the drink," he said as he stood up and began to pull out his wallet.

"Oh, no, that's not necessary; it's on the house."

"Oh, are you sure? I really don't mind paying."

"I'm sure; it's on the house." My mother gave me a pointed look and then held up a sign that said: Barbeque. When I kept looking at her strangely she pointed to Zach and winked. "Hey, Zach," I called out to him as he started to walk away.

"Yeah?" he asked turning back around.

"My family's having a barbeque this weekend in the park, and a lot of people from Roseville will be there. I was wondering if you and Grant would like to go. You're welcome to come. It's on Saturday; it starts at three."

"It's a date." He smiled that crooked smile and started to walk away. "_Yeah, a date,"_ I thought as I heard the chimes go off as he walked out the door.

**Author's Note: First, the drink that was mentioned in this story is an actual drink; I was looking up different types of drinks to put in this story and when I saw the 007 Martini I just knew I had to put that one in. I hope you guys liked this chapter.**

**Quote: "Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they're always there." – Unknown.**

**-GymGirl904.**


	6. Chapter Six: Trouble

**Chapter Six: Trouble.**

"He hasn't showed up yet? Do you think he'll come?" I turned around to be faced with Bex who was holding an open soda in her hand.

"I don't know, Bex, I don't expect him to."

"But…" she asked letting it hang there for me to fill in.

"I don't know. A part of me hopes that he does come."

"Because you like him," she teased, wiggling her eyebrows in suggestion.

"Bex, I do not like him, I barely know him," I pointed out.

"Who does Cameron like?" Macey asked as she and Liz walked up behind me and Macey draped her arm over my shoulders. She had a cold water in her other hand; her sunglasses shading her eyes.

"Zach, she likes Zach. You know, the one who helped her save the kids; that Zach." Bex looked up over my left shoulder before turning back to the two of us. "Speak of the devil; the incredibly muscular, hot devil." Macey and I both turned around to see both Grant and Zach walking across the grass to the picnic area. Macey moved her glasses to the top of her head and let out a whistle.

"He's got a nice body, even I would like him."

"I do not like him," I tried to reassure them, but couldn't help laugh at the two of them. "Hi," I said, turning around as the two guys approached us. Ranger went running up to them and jumped on Zach once again. Zach petted him before he jumped down and trotted back over to me. He turned around and sat down at my feet.

"Hey," Zach replied smiling, his hands in his pockets. He was wearing plain jeans and a dark short-sleeved shirt.

"Zach, these are my best friends; Bex, Macey, and Liz. Guys this is Zach and his friend Grant. They're new to Roseville."

They all shook hands and introduced themselves further. In the background I heard someone call Liz's name and she walked off. Macey and Bex were busy chatting up Grant as I turned to Zach.

"Well, he seems popular."

"Yeah he's quite the charmer."

"I'll show you where all the drinks are."

"Okay," he said, following me into the shade of the trees.

"How are you doing?" I asked as I pulled open one of the cooler lids.

"I'm fine, still getting used to how quaint this town is." He looked like he was searching for the right word. I laughed.

"You did not just say the word quaint."

"So, maybe I did." He smiled that crooked smile once again and I couldn't help but laugh again as he grabbed a soda, handing one to me as well.

"Thank you," I said taking it from his hand and popping the lid.

"Yeah, so what exactly is this barbeque for?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunched up as he looked around.

"Well the Fourth of July is coming up soon, so we do a barbeque for that, but since most people have things going on that day we do it a week or so earlier. I'm pretty sure it's also a late welcome home to me even though I said not to; my mom wanted it to be special."

"That's sweet," he replied as we continued walking through the park. Kids ran by playing all kinds of games. Just then there was a squeal and I felt arms wrap around me. I stiffened for a fraction of a second before I recognized the voice that was saying it was so good to see me again.

"Hi, DeeDee," I said turning around to face her and Josh, who was standing a little behind her. "It's good to see you again."

"It's so good to see you; late welcome home and I'm glad you came home safe." Her hands were on my shoulders before she pulled me back into a bone-crushing hug. I laughed before wrapping my arms around her. When she pulled back she bent down to pet Ranger.

"He's a pretty dog," she said looking up at me from her squatting position.

"Thanks," I said as I looked at Josh who was watching me carefully.

"Hi, Josh," I said as he walked over to where DeeDee stood. He looked good; he'd put on some muscle since I'd last seen him. He wasn't totally muscular, though; he was still lengthy, just more filled out. His light brown wavy hair had gotten a little longer; his posture was still the same.

"Hey, Cammie," was all he said. "It's good to see you," he said almost under his breath.

"It's good to see you, too." Just then DeeDee poked me and pointed over to where Zach was still standing.

"Who's that?" she asked, looking him up and down.

"Oh, right. Zach this is DeeDee and Josh; guys this is Zach. He just moved here." DeeDee smiled brightly at him and shook his hand.

"Whoa, you've got some nice muscle." Her eyes widened at the sight of his arms and then she looked at his tattoo. "Nice tattoo."

"Thanks," he said smiling kindly to her. He outstretched his hand to Josh. "I'm Zach."

"Josh," he said hesitant to take his hand, but in the end he did.

"It was nice to see you guys again." DeeDee nodded as she and Josh began to walk the opposite way as Zach and I. DeeDee slipped her hand into Josh's hand and I smiled. We walked in silence for a minute or so; along the way I smiled and said hi to different people we passed.

"So, how do you know those two?" We'd stopped at a picnic table. I sat on top of the table as Zach took a seat beside me.

"I've known them since high school," I started, taking a sip of my soda and looking out at the park.

"Did you go to the same school as them?" he questioned, taking a sip of his drink.

"No, actually I dated Josh for a few months in high school. I broke up with him at the same time I told him I went to Gallagher."

"Is Gallagher bad?" he questioned, looking over at me. I met his eyes; seeing the sun shine in them.

"It's not bad, but some people in Roseville think it's a snobby rich girl's school, and they hold that against us."

"Why do they think it's a snobby rich girl's school?"

"It's a mansion, but it's not snobby. It's been there since 1865, and there are rooms built in. We lived in the school; it's been my home since the seventh grade. They also think it's a snobby school because it's name is the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. Anyways, I never told Josh I went to Gallagher, and I broke up with him and it just really hurt him finding out I hadn't told the truth."

"So him and DeeDee are now together after you broke up with him," he said after I was done.

"Yeah."

"That's an interesting story," he replied taking another sip of his drink and looking up at the sky.

"Yeah," I said, just as my phone went off. "We should probably start heading back," I told him as I read the text I got from Townsend. Zach nodded as he got off the table, extending his hand to help me off.

When we returned to where the main party was going on I saw Townsend leaning against one of the tables, a beer in his hand. He looked up at me and nodded his head to the right; signaling me over.

"Will you excuse me for a minute; I have someone I need to talk to." He nodded his head and I walked over to where Townsend stood. I could feel Zach's eyes on me as I said my hello. Of course he didn't say hello back. Instead he looked down at Ranger, scratched between his ears, and looked me over.

"How has your return been?" he asked instead.

"It's been fine; you know same old, same old; worked a shift at the bar, saved two kids from drowning." He gave me a look.

"You what?"

"It's a long story." I smiled at his frown.

"As long as you stayed safe." His voice was gruff, but held an ounce of caring.

"Townsend, I've been through war, it was a lot safer than being in the army, and I love you, too." He gave me another look, but I just laughed and touched his arm. "Have you found Abby yet?" I raised my eyebrows as I saw him searching the crowd. There was a total thing going on between the two of them. My aunt was also Army, and she did some training with newbies where the two of them met again. I guess there was some past with them; something about her saving his life in the war. Who really knows, though; they both won't say anything about it.

We started walking away from the table when I heard three very loud, excited voices. I saw Grant come up to stand beside Zach as I looked over to see my three best friends jump on my aunt yelling, "Abby," as loud as they could. I laughed as they all walked over to where I stood. I hugged my aunt; I hadn't seen her in a little over a year, and as I pulled away she whispered,

"Welcome home, squirt. Welcome home."

She turned to where Townsend stood with his arms crossed.

"Townsend," she said, crossing her own arms.

"Cameron," he fired back.

"Edward." She just wouldn't stop.

"Abigail."

"Aw Eddie, I didn't know you liked going by your first name," I teased. He growled before turning his hard glare back to Abby.

"Well, I was going to ask what was going on over here, but I already know it's sexual tension," Joe said as he walked over to us.

"There's no tension!" Abby and Townsend both yelled at the same time. Joe laughed as my mom came up behind him.

"Yeah, and I'm not married to Rachel," he stated the obvious.

A few hours later I found Joe talking on his cell-phone; he wasn't upset but he looked disappointed.

"Hey, Joe," I said as I made my way up to him. "What was that about?" He turned to me and sighed.

"It's just work; I have to go by a house and check on the kids that live there." He placed his phone back in his pocket.

"I can go," I stated as we started walking.

"Cammie, I can't ask you to do that."

"Well that's a good thing then because you never asked. I'm offering. Please, let me do this. You need a break and I'd be happy to do it." He looked torn between what to do.

"What about that Zach person you were with?"

"He just left; really I don't mind doing it."

"Okay," he gave in. He took a key out of his pocket and handed it to me. "The address is 259 South Lane." I took the keys and headed off hearing him thank me as I went. I walked over to Bex and told her where I was going as she talked to Grant. I also told her to keep Ranger with her and that I would meet her at home.

As I walked down Fifth Avenue seven guys suddenly surrounded me, and there was no place to go. One of them stepped closer and I straightened my back even more; he must be the leader. His smile was cold, almost a sneer as he looked me up and down.

"Well what do we have here," he spoke lowly, and then a cold laugh escaped his lips.

"Someone you don't want to mess with," I fired back, clenching my fists at my side. He laughed again.

"Someone thinks they're tough." He smirked, licking his lips as he took another step closer. "I like tough, but come on sweetie we both know you won't be able to fight me."

His hand reached out and his fingers brushed down my arm. Fighting back a shiver I ground my teeth, resisting the urge to kick his sorry butt to the ground. I did, however, shove his hand away. His hand went right back to my arm and he was seemingly unfazed that I'd shoved his hand away. I could hold my own in a fight, but when it came to seven big guys who loved starting trouble and fighting I knew I was better off holding off on starting anything of my own.

"Take your hand off me," I said forcefully. He knew I meant business.

"Or what?" he fired back; obviously he wasn't smart enough to realize that I meant business.

"Or you'll regret it." I shook off his hand again that was starting to creep up my arm to my shoulder; he just laughed again.

"You hear that boys, she's going to teach me a lesson." His crew laughed as he stepped forward again.

He grabbed me by the waist and roughly pulled me to him. His arms snaked their way around my waist as his mouth came down to my ear.

"I don't want to hurt you, but you do anything stupid and I'll have to teach _you _a lesson." He pulled his head back, snapping his teeth together making a clicking sound just as a gunshot sounded in the air. Everyone hit the ground, everyone but me.

I spun around from my spot in the middle of the street to see Zach holding a gun, looking directly at the leader.

"That's a warning shot. The next time I fire one of you won't be as lucky," he called out as he started walking down the street toward us.

Mr. Creepy Leader Guy grabbed my hand and I spun around and punched him before bringing my knee up into his groin. He fell to the ground with a groan and crumpled himself into a ball. One of his crewmembers came my way and I kicked him hard, sending him down. I felt a pair of arms grab me from behind and I grasped their arm, leaned forward and sent the guy flying over my shoulder. Zach came up behind me, his gun still at the ready.

"Anyone else want to try anything?" I questioned, looking around at the four guys still standing.

Creepy Leader Guy still lay on the ground at my feet; I kneeled down and smiled at him.

"I told you, you would regret it. Never mess with a girl; that was your first mistake. Your second mistake was to mess with an Army girl. Remember that the next time you decide to be a lowlife, kay?" He gave a grunt and I stood back up, looking at his crew once again. They all started to back away as I called out, "Hey, you forgot something." Two of them ran over to where their leader lay, pulled him up, and hurried off.

I turned to Zach who was just putting his gun into the back of the waistband of his jeans.

"Thanks," I spoke after a minute of silence.

"No problem," he replied as he turned to me. "What were you doing in a bad neighborhood like this all by yourself?"

"It's not a bad neighborhood; they don't usually come over here. So, why are you stalking me this time?" I questioned, turning to face him. He just laughed.

"Now I know you would like it if I was stalking you, but actually Grant's and my apartment is this way. Why are you here?"

"I'm running an errand for Joe." We'd started walking down the street; the way I had been going before I was stopped.

"Your dad?" he asked, uncertainty in his voice.

"No, step-dad."

"Oh." He was silent for a minute, thinking, before he carried on, "Why didn't you fight back right away when they approached you?"

"I thought about it, but there were seven of them and they weren't small. I would have been able to take them if there weren't so many. Besides, I didn't know if they were packing, so if I had gotten out my gun that could have been fatal. I was just going to stay put for a little longer to come up with a plan." I shrugged after I was finished.

"That guy grabbed you. Did he hurt you in any way?" Zach had stopped and was now checking my arms for any injuries.

"I'm fine. The real question is: do you always carry a gun to a barbeque?" He looked me in the eye.

"Do _you_ always carry a gun to a barbeque?" His eyebrow rose as he looked at me.

"Not all the time. I was feeling protective today, though." He smiled and we continued on. "So where is it that you guys live?"

"It was the street back there that went left." He tilted his head behind us.

"Then why didn't you go that way?"

"Well the house you're going to is this way and I'm going with you." I didn't say anything I just looked at him. He seemed to understand what I was getting at. "We never know if those guys are coming back, and just to be safe I'm going with you."

"I'm pretty sure we scared them off for a long time," I said as I turned my head back to see where I was going.

We walked in silence until we reached the house: 259 South Lane. I took out the key, opened the door, and held it open for Zach as he stepped inside.

"Hey Tyler, hey Charlie," I said as I made my way into the small living room. Tyler, who was fourteen, looked over the back of the couch as he paused the TV. Charlie, who was Tyler's brother, and who was ten, came into the living room with a soda in one hand and a candy bowl in the other.

"Hey, Cammie," Tyler said as he stood up and made his way over to where I was. "Welcome home; it's good to see you." He hugged me and it was then that I realized how much taller and fitter he'd become.

"It's good to see you too." I pulled back and looked up at him, smiled and then hugged Charlie. I grabbed some of the candy that was in the bowl and popped them in my mouth.

"No fair," Charlie whined, sticking his tongue out at me in the process. I stuck my tongue out at him in return as Tyler looked at Zach.

"Who's he? Your boyfriend?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No, this is Zach, he's a friend of mine."

"Yeah 'friend'," he mocked, using air quotes around his words. When I turned around to Zach his eyebrow was quirked and he had a smirk across his face.

"I'm Zach, and yes I'm just her friend." He shook hands with Tyler as the three of them started talking. I made my way into the kitchen to find dishes stacked up on the counter, and the garbage full. I made my way back into the living room to find them all on the couch playing video games.

"Boys," I said from the doorway and they all looked over. "Charlie, you take out the trash, and Tyler you do the dishes." They both complained but when I crossed my arms they grumpily got up.

When they were finished they came back in and sat back down, resuming play.

"Hey, Cammie," Tyler spoke, looking over the back of the couch where I stood, lost in thought. "You should come play with us. We have an extra controller." He waved one in the air and scooted over on the couch giving me room next to him and Zach. I looked at the game; some Army game it looked like. I smiled at him and hopped over the couch, taking the controller from him.

"Prepare to be crushed by a girl," I smirked, challenging them.

"Challenge excepted." The four of us spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch laughing and threatening each other's characters.

**Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter. The part with the creepy guys reminded me of a scene from one of my favorite book series, Shadow Falls: After Dark.**

**Onto other news, a few days ago Clear Shot was nominated for the Chameleon Writer's Awards; it's an honor to be nominated.**

**Tomorrow I'm headed to Yellowstone for the week because it's our fall break, which is pretty amazing. **

**Quote: "A single rose can be my garden, a single friend my world." - Unknown.**

**"****Judging a person doesn't define who they are; it defines who you are." - Unknown. **

**-GymGirl904. **


	7. Chapter Seven: Foul Mouth

**Chapter Seven: Foul Mouth. **

"Hey, Cammie," Macey called from the kitchen. I cringed when I heard a cluttering of pots hitting the ground.

"It's all good," Liz yelled out a second later.

"Yeah, Macey," I called from down the hall.

"Can you go to the store? We're running low on food."

"Why can't you go?" I questioned as I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the counter.

"I have to go do a shoot this afternoon, which reminds me that I won't be here tonight." I nodded.

"Why can't Liz or Bex go?" I really wanted to hit the gym this afternoon for a few hours.

"Liz is going to the labs to test out a new product. Bex, I believe is going to be on duty."

"Oh, okay, I'll try and hit the store this afternoon." She smiled and said her thanks before grabbing her keys and heading out for her photo shoot.

At around four thirty I headed out, deciding to walk the short ways so I could count it as my work out. I checked out and was heading outside when I ran into Zach.

"It must be a very small world," he said as he caught a tube of cookie dough that had fallen out of my bag.

"Yeah, but like I said it's also because you're stalking me," I said as he slipped the cookie dough back into my bag.

"Dang, I thought I'd been cleared of all stalking charges." He snapped his fingers.

"Well you were but then you showed up again." I started walking past the parking lot when I realized that Zach was still with me. "Weren't you going to buy something?" I looked back at the front door to the store.

"Oh, I already got what I came for," he said, pulling a pack of gum out of his pocket.

"Really," I asked incredulously, "you came all the way to the store for gum?"

"Well and the exercise," he stated, slipping the pack of gum back in his pocket. We'd just turned the street corner when I heard a voice behind me.

"Well, well, well; look who it is; Barbie with her very own brand new Ken. Don't worry, she'll get tired of you soon, too." Dillan's friends snickered, but I was just annoyed. He turned to Zach. "Did she tell you she's Army? Don't listen to anything she says, though; she's nothing but a Morgan. She's nothing but a piece of trash that enlisted." Before I could say anything Zach stepped forward. He was face to face with Dillan. Dillan was a little bit taller, but Zach had a lot more muscle and bulk going for him.

"What did you just call her?" Zach's voice was steady, eerily calm, scary calm.

"You heard me, Soldier Boy, Barbie Girl here is nothing." He turned to me. "Tell him, Barbie, you only enlisted because Daddy didn't love you enough to stay with you did he? He left you and your mom and he doesn't want to come back." He pretended to pout then sneered.

"You know what, Dillan; you're not worth wasting my time." I moved to go around him when he grabbed my arm.

"Dillan," I warned, sliding the bag onto the ground at my feet as I turned to face him. "Let me go." He gripped my wrist even tighter. "I said, let go of me."

"And what are you going to do if I don't, huh Barbie?" He grabbed my upper arms and squeezed; hard. "What are you going to do?" The pain worsened. He had big hands, and they were strong, crushing my upper arms in their grip.

"You won't have to worry about what she'll do to you," Zach spoke clearly, and I heard him moving the paper bag back (what the heck? I thought). "You'll only have to worry about what I'll do to you."

Before I could blink Zach had torn Dillan's hands away from my arms and had pinned him against the nearest wall. Zach's forearm came to rest over Dillan's throat, his other hand gripping Dillan's shirt; fisting it into a knot. Zach only punched Dillan when Dillan made a move to punch him. Of course Dillan missed, but Zach hit him square in the jaw. As Zach brought his hand back to hit Dillan again, a hand grabbed his hand and spun him around. Drake, I believe his name was, pinned Zach against the wall next to Dillan and got two good shots at Zach's face before Zach pushed him off.

"Zach," I called just as he threw another punch, taking one in return. He held his ground; he threw more punches than he took and I was finally able to throw some of them off him. I was about to touch Zach's shoulder when I heard him whisper to Dillan.

"You never talk to a girl like that, do you hear me? You treat her right, no matter what, understood? Never judge someone when you don't actually know them." Zach pushed Dillan away from him. "And one more thing, never talk about the Army like that again. She served our Country, and she served it well; never say otherwise." Dillan swallowed hard and nodded his head. His nose and lip were bleeding and he had several bruises on his face.

"Cammie," he said, turning towards me after Zach gave him a hard look. "I'm sorry; you didn't deserve that. I've had an issue with you since you dumped Josh and all, but I took that too far. I'm sorry." It was sincere, I knew it was sincere, but I could also tell it slightly pained him to apologize to me; he wasn't the type to apologize easily.

"Dillan, I know you don't like me. I don't expect you to like me and I don't even mind you calling me names, but Zach's right; don't bring the Army into this. That's the only thing I have to say. Judge me all you want, I really don't care, but don't judge other people, especially Zach; you don't even know him. One other thing; the whole tough guy, bad boy thing isn't as cool as you think; it just makes you look like a douche." He looked at me the whole time I spoke, and at the end he nodded. I wasn't expecting anything else, but he held his hand out to me.

"I was out of line." I shook his hand and just as I was picking up the bag one of his friends spoke.

"Seriously, Dillan; you're going to let some girl tell you what to do? Since when have you gone soft? You have to tell her who's boss."

"Jack, enough. No matter how much it pains me to say, she's right; we all need an attitude change." Not everything changes, but there was a good side to Dillan that a lot of people didn't see.

"I can carry that you know," Zach offered after we walked a block.

"I know," I said, but I continued walking with the bag in my arms.

"Seriously, I can."

"I know." We continued walking in silence for a while. A car drove by with its music blasting out the open windows.

"I'm sorry I punched that guy." He slid his hands into his pockets.

"I'm not," I spoke honestly as I looked up at him.

"Really? I thought you would have been mad at me losing control like that."

"He deserved to be knocked down a peg, to know that he isn't all high and mighty." He nodded.

"I'd better get home to clean this up," he gestured to his face. His lip was slightly busted and he had a cut under one eye. One of the guys must have been wearing a ring. There was a slight bruise that was starting to form on his cheek that was slowly turning purple and blue. As he turned his back to me I grabbed his hand and he turned around.

"You're not going home; you'll be coming with me so I can clean you up."

"That's not necessary; really I can do it myself."

"Oh, I have no doubt that you can, but you got those bruises because Dillan decided to talk bad about me, so you'll be coming with me, Army Boy," I teased when he looked torn with what to say.

"Well, when you put it that way I think I have no say in the matter."

"Oh, you do have a say, either you come with me or I drag you there." He laughed, putting his hands up in surrender before he started walking with me the last few blocks to my apartment.

After we'd walked through the front door I made my way to the kitchen to put down the bag.

"Make yourself at home; I'll be there in a second. I just have to unload the bag," I called from the other room.

When I walked into the living room Zach was sitting on the couch looking at the coffee table. As I got closer he looked up and I looked at what was on the table; my drawings.

"Sorry," he said when he saw where my eyes had landed.

"No, it's fine; I just forgot that they were there is all." I sat down on the coffee table and set the cleaning kit down beside me. "Scoot forward," I spoke, gesturing to the edge of the couch.

"You really don't have to do this," he said even after I'd started cleaning his cut with water.

"I know, but I am." I leaned in to make sure I got the edge. I was close, and when I looked up I could see his eyes. They were brown with swirls of green in them and they were looking right at me. I cleared my throat and looked down at the coffee table; picking up another cotton ball.

"If it's not a big deal; could I have a glass of water?" The question in his voice had me looking up at him. "If it's not a big deal," he added again.

"If you wanted water you could have asked me in the beginning. I'd be happy to get you some water." I smiled at him before getting up and getting him a glass. When I set it on the coffee table in front of him he said his thanks and took a sip. I sat back down on the table and picked up the bottle of alcohol.

"This is going to sting a little bit," I warned him dabbing it onto a cotton piece.

"I've been through worse," he spoke as I placed it against his skin. He didn't even flinch as I moved it across his cheek. "Those drawings; are they yours?"

"Yeah, I use drawing as a way to relax."

"They're really good."

"Thanks," I said, finishing with his cut and moving to his busted lip.

"That guy, Dillan, he said that you're just a Morgan. What was that about?"

"Well, first off Dillan is Josh's best friend and he hated me when I broke up with Josh; both because I dumped his friend, but also that I lied to him. Dillan hated me more than Josh did. As for the whole 'she's nothing but a Morgan' that was just him being Dillan. He doesn't actually really know my family. He knows us, but he doesn't know who we are."

"What he said about your dad…" he trailed off, unsure where to go from there.

"It's not true. My dad died when I was ten; he never would have left us. That was Dillan just trying to cause trouble."

"Does he know what happened to your dad?"

"No, he just knows that Joe is my step-dad and assumed something like that happened."

"I'm sorry," he spoke truthfully as I finished up. "Is that why you enlisted?"

"Yeah, I wanted to help people; save lives." He nodded and put his hand over my own.

"That's exactly why I enlisted. I didn't have the best childhood. I wanted to make a difference; give people a chance to really live." He looked away like he didn't really mean to tell me that much. I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Since you got hurt because of me I owe you dinner sometime, and don't you dare try and tell me otherwise," I stated, changing the subject as I pulled back.

"Okay," he said as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch. "Thank you for the, yeah," he finished, gesturing to his face. "Oh and I wasn't hurt." I smiled as he walked to the front door. "Have fun with the cookie dough," he added as he walked out the door.

"Yeah, will do; bye." I closed the door behind him and went to go clean up the coffee table.

**Author's Note: I hope you guys liked this chapter. Last week I sent Clear Shot to my English teacher, so she could read it and see what she thinks of it, which does mean that this story is finished. It's actually been finished since I posted the first chapter. I know how annoying it can be when a story you're reading just stops in the middle, and so I wanted you to know that it won't happen with this one.**

**Quote: "Friendship is the sweetest form of love. So when I say I'll be your friend until the end, it's as good as saying I'll keep you in my heart until its very last beat." – Unknown.**

**"****Friendship isn't about who you've known the longest. It's about who walked into your life, said, "I'm here for you," and proved it." – Unknown.**

**-GymGirl904.**


	8. Chapter Eight: Flashback

**Chapter Eight: Flashback.**

"What are you preparing for?" Bex asked when she walked into the kitchen. I was about to answer when Macey called from down the hall.

"She has a date with Zach; remember he's the hot Army guy!" Bex looked at me with skepticism.

"Really?" I nodded. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"Because you were working," Liz replied, walking into the kitchen right in front of Macey.

"And I forgot to tell you," I added when I saw her expression. "The only reason Macey knows is because she overheard our phone conversation."

"What about Liz?"

"She was the one to go shopping for the food." Bex nodded in understanding.

"Okay, enough of that; what are you going to wear?"

"Just something simple," I shrugged.

"Simple? You're going with simple?"

"Macey it's a casual dinner; I was just going to wear a nice shirt and my dark jeans. Simple; simple is good." She looked reluctant to let it go at first but then nodded and said that it would look good.

When the time came for Zach to show up my roommates all disappeared right at the same time. Macey was just walking to the door to leave when there was a knock. Macey looked at me with wide eyes and I gave her a weird look before opening the door to him. He looked good; he was wearing dark jeans, a dark shirt, and you could just see his tattoo.

"I was just leaving," Macey stated when he saw her.

"Zach, this is one of my roommates, Macey. Macey this is Zach," I introduced them because even though Macey knew who Zach was; he didn't know who she was.

"It's nice to meet you," he nodded to her as she slipped on her coat.

"You too," she said as she slipped out the door, whispering a bye to me as she went.

"Well that was interesting," he said once the front door had closed. He looked at me and I figured I should give him an explanation.

"My roommates are weird." He laughed at that as I invited him into the kitchen.

"Aren't all roommates weird?" He placed his hands against the counter and leaned in.

"My roommates aren't your typical weird; they're interesting." I pulled out the dish from the oven to let it cool before we ate. It wasn't a fancy meal; it was just a spicy pasta shell, something I'd made a lot for the girls.

"How many roommates do you have?" he asked looking around the room at the different pictures that lined the wall.

"Three; we all went to Gallagher together and then decided to get this apartment together. Do you want anything to drink; a beer perhaps?"

"A beer would be fine." I opened the fridge and pulled out two iced bottles of beer, popped the lid off both of them, and handed one to him. He thanked me, raised it in the air, and then took a sip.

Over dinner the conversation ventured, but most of it we spent talking about the crazy things our roommates had done.

"There was this one time when my other roommate, Jonas, wanted to try his new electro shock therapy out, so when Grant was sleeping he hooked him up to the machine and then put his other hand in a bowl of warm water."

"Why did it have to be warm water?"

"It didn't, but Jonas decided to kill two birds with one stone. The week before the whole thing Grant tampered with Jonas's phone and made him go crazy because he couldn't remember scheduling the appointments his phone said he had." We were laughing so hard it got hard to breathe at certain points.

We sat at the table for another twenty minutes talking after we'd finished eating, and it was around nine o'clock when I finally got up to bring the dirty plates to the kitchen.

"I'll help clean up the leftover food," Zach offered when he saw me reaching for the food dish. I carried in the dirty dishes and he took in the food.

"You really didn't have to help me you know," I stated as I washed the plates.

"I know, but I wanted to," was his simple answer. After I was done rinsing the plates I got out the chocolate crumble pudding and two small bowls and set them on the counter.

"I hope you like pudding because I didn't know what other kind of dessert to make," I told him, looking in the drawer for the spoons. When he didn't answer I turned around to find him looking at the edge of the counter with his hand touching is shoulder.

"Zach?" He didn't answer again and I walked over to where he stood facing me. "Zach," I repeated, placing my hand on the shoulder where his hand was, which seemed to snap him out of it.

"Sorry, I blacked out," he said uncertainly.

"Are you okay? What happened?" I was worried, and when he looked down at me he must have seen the worry, too.

"I'm fine I just had a flashback. I snapped the lid to the food and it reminded me of pulling the trigger." I was still looking at him concerned; he placed his other hand on top of mine. "All I remember was someone putting pressure on a wound that I had gotten; that's all that the flashback was of, it's nothing serious," he tried to reassure me and after a moment I nodded, taking my hand off his shoulder because it suddenly felt hot where I knew there was a bullet wound. I could have said something about that day, anything at all, but I didn't; I just couldn't.

"Do you still want pudding?" I didn't know what else to say, but I was glad when he nodded, placing his hands into his pockets. It got awkward for a few seconds; both of us didn't know what to say and do after what had happened, but it soon disappeared when we found a common subject to talk about.

"You told me why you enlisted into the Army but you never told me what you enlisted into." I took a deep breath before letting it out.

"I was a Sniper; Special Forces."

"I was not expecting that," he answered honestly. "I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were that good. That sounded weird, but that was a compliment."

"I know," I reassured him. He told me he was also a Special Forces Sniper, which of course I already knew that, but he didn't know that I knew. We talked about the Army; everything from strength training to the battlefield, and it felt so natural talking to him about it; I'd never had someone to really talk to who got what it was like.

"Thank you for having me over; I had fun," he stated as we stood outside the apartment door. A light breeze blew by sending cool air to us. The sounds of the night surrounded us from all sides.

"Me too, it's nice just laughing sometimes. I haven't laughed like that in a long time," I admitted, not really sure where it came from, but knowing it was true. He nodded and I felt his large hand over mine for a moment before he was gone. I stayed at the railing, leaning against it as I heard the roar of his engine fade away and he was out of sight.

**Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter. This week was a really big week for me; I made it to school everyday this week, which I haven't done all this school year. It doesn't sound like much, but it is a huge accomplishment and hopefully means I'll start to get even better soon.**

**Also, in the story it mentioned a spicy pasta shell dish; my mom makes this sometimes, and she actually made it for my birthday dinner. It is amazing.**

**Quote: "The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see, and knows what the mind cannot understand." – Unknown.**

**-GymGirl904.**


	9. Chapter Nine: Shooting at Close Range

**Chapter Nine: Shooting at Close Range.**

"Hey Cammie," I heard Bex yell from the front of the apartment over the noise of the TV. When I walked into the living room I found her perched on the edge of the couch with what looked like a note in her hand.

"Yeah," I said when I'd walked up behind her.

"I found this taped to the door with your name on it. I don't know what it is," she explained as she handed me the white envelope. It was unopened and had my name written out on the front. I slowly undid the seal and pulled out the folded piece of paper.

"Ooh, it's a real mystery," Macey said as she walked back into the room with a drink in her hand. I unfolded the paper and read what was on it:

_Cammie,_

_Since you and I both know that the other person's a Sniper, I was wondering if you were up for a little competition. Meet me at Rick's Shooting Range at twelve if you dare. ~Z._

"What does it say?" Liz was looking over my shoulder as Bex asked the question everyone seemed to be wondering.

"It's a note," Liz stated matter-of-factly. Bex gave her a look.

"Well I know that. I was wondering what the note said." Liz made an 'Oh' shape with her mouth as both Bex and Macey looked expectedly at me.

"It's from Zach; it says to meet him at the range for a competition if I dare." Their eyes got wide and it was two seconds later that they jumped up from the couch to yell at me that I had better go to the Range to meet him.

When I reached the Range Zach was already there leaning against the building with his arms crossed. His muscles bulged under the tight shirt and when he saw me walking up he pushed himself off the wall to meet me.

"Hey," he said once he had reached me.

He opened the door to the building and we stepped inside. It was dark, and in the front was a counter with a row of guns in one of the display cases. A minute later a big guy, around six foot three, came out. He nodded over to Zach and pulled out two guns for us. His voice was gruff when he told us that we were already set up in lane four. Zach and I walked into the back in silence. When we got to the Shooting Range it was empty, except for the two of us.

"So, what kind of competition are we having?" I asked when we'd set down the two guns. He turned to me and smiled.

"Which one of us has the best shot at close and far range."

I smiled at that and before he could even pick up his gun five shots rang through the air. I'd hit the target in the chest; there was a tight cluster of five holes. I looked back at him and his mouth was loose; he tightened his jaw and smirked, then fired his gun five times. His target had an even tighter cluster of bullet holes in the middle of the chest. He looked smugly at me with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"I see how we're going to play this," I replied smugly before I turned back to my target and shot his head five times. You could only see two bullet holes; the other three going into one of the two holes. He looked at the sheet, whistled, and then aimed at his own target; five in the head.

"See," he shot back, looking smug. We brought our sheets up to us to change them out when I noticed Zach's.

"Yeah I do see; there are two and a half bullet holes in the head, not two. You were a little too far over to the right on the one shot," I told him, showing him the partial hole combined with the other one. Zach opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again before a sound could come out. I grinned up at him as the sheets made their way back to their place, but this time they moved back a little further.

For the next twenty minutes we spent our time trying to out beat the other one in precision and distance. Zach would win a round and then I would and it went back and forth like a tug-of-war. When we finally finished shooting we'd used up ten pages each and had to re-load the guns a number of times.

"I've never seen a girl shoot that well before," the guy from the counter said as he walked further into the room, I think Zach called him Vince. When he asked where I had learned how to shoot like that, I told him that I'd learned how to shoot a gun from my dad and that I had gone into the Army. He nodded, still looking impressed as he turned to Zach.

"She's a keeper," he said before he walked back out of the room leaving the two of us alone again.

"You do have an amazing shot, one of the best I've ever seen." He looked over at me. I was standing against one of the walls that separated our lane from the others; Zach was leaning against the one opposite mine.

"Thanks," I said as I folded my arms over my chest. "You aren't half bad yourself."

"You look good today, too," he spoke as he pushed off his wall and stepped closer to me.

"Like I said before, you're not half bad either." He nodded as he took a few more steps towards me.

He was close, and I could smell the soap he used. His chest was wide as he took the last step until he was right in front of me. My mouth came up to his chin, and his mouth was right above mine. I took a deep breath and was able to smell the mint that was on his breath like he'd just brushed his teeth. One of his hands came to rest at my hip as the other one came up to my neck. His face got closer, my eyes began to close, and right as I felt his lips brush against mine shots fired.

I felt him flinch at the same time that I did and he pulled back, dropping his hands to his side at the same time. When we looked around the corner we saw a man at the end with earplugs and safety goggles on. I bowed my head trying to hide my smile and Zach laughed.

"Well that was startling," he said as I reached to unload my gun. I nodded as he began to do the same.

Once we had returned the guns and everything was cataloged we were free to go. As the two of us made it out the doors the smell of rain hit me and I breathed in deeply. When I looked up you could see the building storm clouds; they were dark and blocked out the afternoon sun. Zach looked up too, and you could see that it was raining off in the distance.

"Do you want a ride?" he questioned as I walked past his bike. "You can hop on the back."

"I'm good; you don't have an extra helmet, and besides, I like this weather and my place isn't that far away."

He nodded as he put his helmet on, swinging his leg over the side of his motorcycle. I reached the sidewalk when I heard the engine start up, making a loud thundering noise. He pulled out of the parking lot just as I had reached the corner. The sky suddenly opened up, sending sheets of rain to the ground.

"You have got to be kidding me," I said out loud to myself.

A moment later Zach pulled up at the stop light right next to me with an extra helmet in his hand. He flipped the visor on his helmet open and looked at me, silently asking if I wanted on. I walked out into the middle of the street and grabbed the helmet from him, pulling it over my head. I hitched my leg over the side of his bike and climbed on. I planted my shoes against the black pegs that stuck out from the sides of his bike as I wrapped my arms around his waist. All I felt was his abs; they were solid, firm against my touch. When his bike started forward with a jerk I wound my arms even tighter around his middle, and I could feel him laugh against my hands. I felt the rain pelt down against my back as he sped through the streets of Roseville to my place.

**Author's Note: Well, we finally got the Zach and Cammie date I know a lot of you were waiting for, and I hope you liked this chapter.**

**Last week was the first week I made a full week of school, and this week I made the whole week, too. So, for anyone out there with a chronic illness or demons just know that things do get better in time, whether it's a week, a month, or years. Never lose hope because you will get better.**

**Quote: "Everything happens for a reason even if we don't know what that reason is, yet." -What I always say.**

**-GymGirl904. **


	10. Chapter Ten: Procession

**Chapter Ten: Procession.**

I was having trouble sleeping; I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. When I looked over at the clock it read 12:04 and I watched it tick by for ten minutes. I was about to turn on the light to read some when I heard a light knock on the front door. I got out of bed and slowly made my way into the front hall. I turned on the hall light when I heard the knock again a little louder this time. I peered through the peephole then I unlocked the door, hearing the door click as I opened it.

"What are you doing here? What's wrong?" I asked as I saw the pained expression on Zach's face. He was just standing there, silent. His shirt was wrinkled and his hair was messy; he didn't look good.

"Can I come in?" he questioned; his voice broke slightly as he looked behind me at the empty hallway. I nodded as I opened the door wider for him to step through.

I walked into the living room and sat on the couch; Zach came in behind me and sat on the other side. He didn't say anything for the longest time; he just sat there looking straight ahead at the wall. When he turned to look at me he had unshed tears in his eyes. He swallowed hard and ran his hand through his hair. I scooted closer.

"Zach, what happened?" His hand shook as he pulled an envelope out of his pants pocket. On the front of the envelope it said, Sergeant First Class Zachary Goode. He handed it to me and I unfolded the paper inside, and I started to read:

**Dear Zach,**

**This is Sergeant Drew Finnegan. I know that you were close with Staff Sergeant Samuel Greene, and that he was like a brother to you, and as a friend of both Sam and you I feel that I should be the one to inform you that Sam was killed in action on July 20, 2014. He was stationed on Bear River Ridge when he was spotted and shot by enemy fire. He was taken to the hospital in Medina where he later died of his injuries. You and I both know that Sam was a hero and he will be honored as one by having his name on a star on the Fallen Soldier's Wall.**

**Sam's funeral service will be held at the Alpine's Cemetery in Roseville, Virginia (because that is where his parent's live) and will be held on August 1****st**** at 15:00 hours. I remember a conversation that we once had and he told me this saying:**

**"****When you can't run anymore you walk, and when you can't walk you crawl, and when you can't even do that you find someone to carry you." Jake, Ethan, and I are going to carry him to his final resting place and I was wondering if you would do the honors and carry him as well. I understand if you decide not to because of the pain and all, but I thought you should at least know.**

**We're all devastated with this loss, but I know how close you two were and for your pain I'm truly sorry, Zach.**

**Your friend, Drew Finnegan.**

After I'd finished reading the letter I looked up at him to see him looking down at his lap. He let out a sniff and I reached over to grab his hand. He didn't stop me when I intertwined our fingers. I knew that sometimes the best thing to do was to do nothing at all and to just be there for him.

"I'm going to do it, you know, I'm going to carry him to his final resting place. He was like a brother to me; he saved me on my first mission. There was an ambush and he saved me, and no one could save him. He carried me when I needed him and now it's my job to carry him."

"Do you want me to go to the funeral with you to pay my respects?" I asked, wanting to be there for him if he needed me. I felt bad for him that he would watch his friend being buried on his birthday. He shrugged his shoulders, but I saw him nod his head ever so slightly.

"You can stay here if you want. I really don't mind and you shouldn't be alone right now." He nodded his head with a small smile.

"I'm going to go get some blankets. Feel free to watch whatever you want, and there's food in the kitchen." I leaned over and kissed his cheek before I got up and got a pillow and some blankets out of the closet and returned to the living room where Zach had turned on the TV. I sat back down next to him and pulled the blanket up as I tucked my legs under me. We sat in silence as the show played on before our eyes.

**The Funeral:**

When it came to the day of the funeral I met Zach at his apartment. He was in his formal military uniform. He looked really good in his clothes, which showcased his muscles nicely under the long-sleeved dress jacket. I wore my own dress uniform with my hair pulled up into tight bun. I didn't usually do buns, but today was different. My hat ended right above where the bun was at the back of my head. Zach smiled at me as I walked up the walkway. We hopped into the truck that was sitting in the driveway and backed out into the street. Grant offered to sit in the back seat, which allowed me sit in the front seat next to Zach.

When we got to the cemetery a lot of people were already gathered on the grass, some of them were in the same army gear that we were in and when they saw Grant and Zach they came over. They patted each other on the back and said their condolences. The last guy to come up and talk to Zach had piercing eyes that matched the sky and black hair that was short and slightly spiked. Zach introduced him to me as Drew Finnegan and we shook hands.

"Cammie Morgan," I said when he let go of my hand. "Special Forces."

"Sniper?" he questioned as he looked me up and down, but he wasn't checking me out, it more like he was sizing me up.

"Yes," I told him as he nodded.

When the procession began music started to play and the four of them, Jake, Ethan, Drew, and Zach lifted the polished casket out of the hearse and began walking up the path. Zach's face was like stone, it was blank and expressionless. He carried his friend to his final resting place like he had wanted; when they stepped back they stood in a line on the far side of the coffin. I went and sat in the seats that were available to the side of the coffin as an official started speaking. I pulled my hat off and laid it across my chest as I saw other military personnel do. When the man said that anyone who wanted to say a word could, Zach stepped up to the platform. He spoke:

"When I first met Samuel Greene I had just joined the army. He was my bunkmate and sometimes we would stay up and talk about our pasts and our families. I loved listening to his stories and hearing about his parents; it always made me feel like they were my family.

He was a good friend and anyone would be lucky to have him as one. I was one of the lucky ones to be able to truly know him. He always wanted to go into the army; that was his one dream: to serve his Country and save lives. He saved my life on my first mission, and I just wish I could have been there to save his life. He told me something one time, he told me:

'I'd rather die saving other's lives and being a hero than living while other's die because I was a coward.'

Nothing about Sam was cowardly and he was a hero. Of course he wanted to live, but he died a hero and that's all that mattered to him. He will be greatly missed, always loved, and forever remembered." With that Zach pulled out a paper folded stork and placed it on the top of the casket. "So you can always sore and feel the wind beneath your wings." With that he stepped back into line; his hands clasped in front of him.

"Cameron Ann Morgan," someone said behind me after the funeral had ended. It was a male's voice and when I turned around I saw Mark Cooper standing there with a smirk on his face. He was tall; he'd always been a lot taller than me and had almost grey eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned looking around. Drew, Zach, and Grant were all standing around talking.

"What am I doing here? The real question is what you're doing here." I huffed and he crossed his arms; he wasn't giving up.

"I'm here because Zach was best friends with Samuel Greene and because someone in the army died and I'm paying my respects." He nodded. "Now it's your turn," I spoke just as Drew, Grant, and Zach came over.

"Hey, man it's good to see you," Drew spoke as he shook Mark's hand.

"I'm Mark Cooper," he said as he shook both Grant's and Zach's hands. They nodded at him.

"How did you know Sam?" Drew asked him once everyone had met.

"Oh, Sam and I grew up just down the street from each other when we were teens; always hanging out together. We signed up for the army together."

"What platoon did you end up with?" Grant asked him, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"I ended up with platoon #242; same one as Cammie over here, which was pretty awesome because she was the only girl there." I laughed.

"I was not the only girl there; there were seven others."

"She was the only field girl there," he clarified. "Which was pretty hot if you ask me," he added at the end.

"And why's that," Zach spoke for the first time since they had come over.

"The muscles, she's got some of the best muscles."

"The other girls have muscles," I said.

"Yeah, but your muscles are so much bigger than theirs." I shook my head, but I couldn't help the smile that showed on my face. "See if you try hard enough you can make her blush," he teased with the same smirk on his face.

"Shut up," I laughed as I slid my hands into my back pockets.

"And look how good she looks in her army uniform and not just a sports bra." I smacked him in the shoulder and he flinched, and then he laughed.

We continued to talk on for a while longer and Mark finally stopped teasing me. When Zach and I started heading to the truck Grant said that he had one more person to talk to. The air was cool and we decided to wait outside the truck for Grant to get back. Zach folded his arms and leaned against the old, faded car.

"Zach," I asked, and he made a grunting noise. "Why did you come to me about Sam?"

"It's because you understand me better than anyone. You know what the Army's like, and you know what I've been through; what we've all been through." I nodded my head at him with a small smile. He paused a moment before, "You're with platoon #242?" he questioned. I nodded.

"Yeah, why?" I didn't know what he was getting at.

"It sounds familiar for some reason, but I don't know why. I don't know, never mind." He shook his head and looked away; I looked in the same direction to see that Grant was hugging a girl. "That's Christie," he said once he saw that I was looking. "She's eighteen; Sam was her brother." I looked over at him and saw that he had clenched his jaw again. He let out a deep breath and stuck his thumbs into his front pockets. His mood took a drastic dive towards the ground as it seemed it all came crashing back.

"I really am sorry, Zach."

"I know, it just sucks today," he spoke looking at the ground as he kicked at a rock that was under his shoe.

"I know," I answered and I knew he wasn't just talking about the death of his friend, but also that he had to bury his friend on his birthday.

"No, you don't, not really anyways." His eyes creased as he squinted up at the sun.

"Actually I do. I know what it's like to lose somebody you care about, I know what it's like to bury that person, and I do know that it sucks. I'm sorry that he died, I really am, but hearing about him from you today I know that he wouldn't want you to be sad. He died a hero that's all he ever wanted, and I know that doesn't take away the pain, but it helps knowing that they died for a cause." I didn't know why it struck a nerve in me so much because I knew that everyone grieves in their own way, but I guess it's just the fact that he thought I didn't know what it was like, but I knew better than anyone what it was like to lose someone you love. Zach was still looking out ahead, not at me, when I heard gravel crunch nearby. I looked up and saw Grant reach the car next to Zach as Zach crossed his arms over his broad chest. Grant looked like he knew something had happened he just didn't know what; he never got the chance to say anything.

"Happy Birthday, Zach," I spoke as I started to turn away. Zach's head turned towards me as I started to walk around the side of the car. I sat in the back on the way home.

**Author's Note: First of all the part where it says, "When you can't run anymore you walk, and when you can't walk you crawl, and when you can't even do that you find someone to carry you," is from the TV show Firefly. This chapter actually wasn't in the beginning plans of this story, but when I was watching a dance company one of their dances was in honor of a soldier they knew who died in the army. Then this idea was born, and here it is.**

**There are only four more chapters left of Clear Shot just to give you a heads up.**

**Thank you for all who have served this country, and who have risked their lives for us. All three of my cousins were in the Army.**

**Also, since it's the first of the month, Rabbit Rabbit. It's said if you say that on the first of the month it will bring good luck.**

**Quote: "Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve great, and some have greatness thrust upon them." – from the movie 'She's the Man'.**

**-GymGirl904.**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Search and Rescue

**Chapter Eleven: Search and Rescue.**

"Where are you going?" I asked Macey as I saw her coming down the hallway with a big roll-able suitcase. It was almost nine at night and I was curled up on the couch with a sketchbook in my hand.

"I have another photo shoot. I get to go to Florida this time for a few days," she responded as she grabbed her phone and keys from the table. "Bex took a case yesterday, so she's been at the office non-stop since then. I'll see you in a few days, but you'll be alone for dinner." My eyebrows furrowed.

"What happened to Liz?"

"Oh, she locked herself in a closet." I gave her a pointed look. "You were sleeping when she told us; it has something to do with work, some experiment she's doing. Don't ask me I have no clue what she's doing." I nodded and said goodbye. She walked out the door and I looked down at Ranger.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me now, buddy. What do you say, should we go wild?" He barked and then just sat there wagging his tail; I laughed. Instead I decided to go to bed early that night, but I woke up at 10:30 when my phone rang with an incoming call. I picked it up and looked at the unknown caller ID. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands before I picked up my phone.

"Hello, this is Cameron." I always did my full name when it was an unknown caller.

"Yes, is this Cameron Morgan?" the deep voice on the other line questioned.

"Who's asking?" I walked into the kitchen and flipped on the light. I squinted against the burning brightness as I waited for an answer.

"This is Detective Michael Flynn with the Roseville Homicide Division. This is Rebecca Baxter's roommate, correct?"

"Yes, what happened to her?" I immediately knew that something was wrong.

"Is she home with you by any chance?" There was hope in his voice and I felt my chest sink. I didn't even know what was going on and I was already panicking.

"No, she's not at home. She took a case just yesterday, that's all I know. What's going on?" My voice wavered and I tried to keep down the panic that was still building within me.

"She was supposed to call in after she checked out an abandoned building, and she was supposed to be back at the office by 9:30 at the latest. When we went to the warehouse she wasn't there, and her squad car was also gone."

"Did you try using the built in GPS to track where her car is?" I asked, I hoped they hadn't tried that yet because I didn't know what else to do.

"We tried. Someone must have ripped out the GPS because we can't get any signal. We sent out some helicopters to see if they could locate her squad car and we've sent out some tracking dogs to see if they can track her scent. So far there's nothing, but I wanted to keep you in the loop."

"Thank you for that. What number is her squad car? I want to go out looking for her as well; one more person is better than one less person."

"Number 32; she was last seen at 518 West Cannon Lane. We're all fond of Rebecca and I hope we can find her. If you hear anything call me."

"Okay, thank you," I said once again before we both hung up. I put down the phone and just stood frozen at the kitchen counter for a moment before I started panicking again.

Normally I wouldn't have panicked at all, but it was Bex we were talking about; the girl I'd known since seventh grade, my sister. I picked up my phone again and called Zach. I released a deep breath when I heard him answer. His voice was deeper being coated with sleep, but at least he had answered.

I wasted no time telling him what the situation was and I knew he could hear the clear panic in my voice because he tried to calm me down over the phone and told me he would be over as soon as he got dressed. For a fraction of a second, after hanging up, the thought of him sleeping and what he slept in crossed my mind before it got edged out once again by the sheer panic. That was when I looked down at what I was wearing and saw that I was in short PJ shorts and a flimsy undershirt. I ran down to my room and put on some warmer clothes that covered more of my body.

I picked up my old army backpack that I kept in the back of my closet and I began to gather things that I might need: an extra change of clothes for Bex, some snacks, a few waters, a first-aid kit, a blanket, a knife, my gun, and a few other things.

I heard the front door open and then close and a second later Zach was at my bedroom door.

"Zach," I breathed out as he walked over to me. "They don't know where she is, they can't find her."

"I know," he said as he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. His breath was against my ear as he tried to calm me down; I'd started shaking again. "We should head out now," he told me after what seemed like forever.

"I didn't know who else to go to about this; Liz is working and Macey's out of town." He nodded as we made our way to the front door. I grabbed my keys and locked the front door behind us.

"I'm glad you called me, I want to help in any way that I can." I nodded. "So, tell me what happened again."

"Bex took on a new case yesterday for the Roseville Homicide Division and she was supposed to call in and she didn't do that, and then she was supposed to be back at the station by 9:30 and she never showed. Someone ripped out the GPS in her car, so they can't track it and they don't know where she is."

"She's a homicide detective?" I nodded. "Okay, we'll take my motorcycle out. It can go faster and on narrower paths. Don't worry Cammie, we'll find her," he reassured me as he handed me a helmet and put on his own.

He straddled the bike as he started the engine and I swung my leg over as I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.

We sped down a dirt path in what looked like the middle of nowhere and I could feel my tears mix with the cold sting of the wind as it hit my face through the open visor of the helmet. It was a colder night than it had been the past couple of nights, which only increased the amount of worry I was holding onto for Bex. I had no clue where she was and if she was injured or lying somewhere freezing to death. What if by the time we found her it was too late; if we even found her.

I tried to wipe the images from my mind, but they'd already buried themselves deep into my skull. I closed my eyes tightly, but that only made the images worse; now I could actually see her lying there, bloody and cold with no one there to save her. My arms tightened around Zach's waist as he picked up speed; his headlights cutting through the dark of the night. You could hear the sound of a helicopter's blades as it made its way above us.

As we sped around a turn I felt Zach's muscles tighten under his shirt; that's it, I could focus on the warmth of his skin through his shirt. I flattened my hands out; palms against the black material, and I focused on the feeling of the warmth that radiated through it.

Fifteen minutes went by, then twenty, and soon it had been an hour of us looking for Bex and coming up empty handed. We'd checked the warehouse where she had last been; nothing, and we had checked the woods that were right outside of the abandoned building; nothing there either. I didn't know where else to look for her when Zach thought of another place.

"Remember those gang members we ran into on our way to that house after the barbeque?" I nodded not sure what he was getting at. "Where did you say that they normally hang out?" I didn't remember. I know I knew it but right then the name of the place escaped my memory. I picked my brain for the name of the place, but every time I thought I had the answer it slipped away from me like soap.

Zach's hands were on my shoulders just then and I realized that my breathing had increased, my eyes were wide, and my hands were shaking.

"Cammie, calm down, stop thinking. Just relax and the name of the place will come to you; you just have to relax." I tried, I really did but I couldn't let myself let go of the panic I felt. "Cammie, listen to me. You have to relax. Think about the perfect shot; think about how you have to be calm and steady to get the perfect shot. There can't be any jitters, okay?" I nodded and closed my eyes, once again trying to calm myself down. I thought about what Zach had said and focused on my breathing.

"Wilking Lane; they hang out on Wilking Lane." I breathed a deep sigh of relief; I was finally able to take a deep breath for the first time in an hour. Zach smiled at me, nodded his head and within seconds we were off.

When we made it to Wilking Lane there wasn't anyone on the streets for it was about 11:45 at night. The clouds that hung overhead shadowed the moon, and as I stepped off the bike a streetlight overhead flickered on and off before it turned back on again. It was eerie and silent as we made our way down the street. The only sound that was heard was the scuffing of our shoes against the chipping sidewalk.

When we got to the end of the street and turned right there was an empty lot behind the buildings. The weeds were over grown and in some places they came up to our knees. We stopped and looked into the vacant lot, and looked for any movement. Zach pointed at something at the very back of the lot as the moon came out from behind the clouds. It took me a moment to see what he was pointing at, though, because a second later the moon was gone again, but I caught a glint of something shiny.

"Isn't that a squad car?" Zach asked; he turned to me when I had looked over to him. I saw the glint again when the moon showed back up, and like before it was gone within a second; it liked playing peek-a-boo. We both looked at each other, coming to the same thought and we took off across the lot calling Bex's name.

We skidded to a stop in the gravel outside the passenger side door of squad car #32. When we peered inside the car we saw that the interior had been ripped apart and wires were hanging out of the dashboard. We popped the trunk open to look in the back. The whole car was empty and we turned to the building behind us. Zach had taken a flashlight from his motorcycle and I reached back behind me to grab the flashlight from her trunk; without saying anything else we made our way to the building.

It was an old building with graffiti along every wall and most windows and doors were boarded up. There were beer cans scattered across the floors and a stale smell in the air. It gave us no light; only the occasional ray that shone through the boards as the moon poked its head out from behind the clouds.

Our steps echoed through the silence that cut through the air like a knife. A dog barked in the far off distance and I nearly jumped from the noise. I could hear Zach's breath beside me as we crawled through a hole in the wall to get to another room. This was definitely where the gang crashed; there were sleeping bags scattered across the floor and food wrappers stuffed into every corner and crevice.

I felt Zach's warm callused hand on my shoulder as he tilted his head over to the room to the right. I listened for a minute before I heard the sound, too, someone breathing. We walked across the floor to the door that hadn't been boarded up and he gently turned the handle. It still creaked when he opened it, and it sent an eerie echo through the place. I stepped in first, my flashlight cutting beams around the room before it landed on a figure crumpled in the middle of the floor.

"Bex," I breathed out, my voice just a little more than a whisper as I ran over to her. Zach was close behind me as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Detective Michael Flynn, this is Zachary Goode regarding Detective Rebecca Baxter. We found her; we're at 547 Wilking Lane in an abandoned building. She's breathing but unconscious. We're three rooms from the back and on the room to the right." There was a pause in the conversation before Zach said, "I'm here with her roommate, Cameron Morgan." After that he hung up and came over to where I was. I could feel his thigh against my leg as he bent down to assess Bex's injuries.

"He said that they were sending units out as we spoke. They'll be here soon," he spoke quietly as Bex started to stir.

"Bex, Bex can you hear me?" I asked as her eyes opened.

"Of course I can hear you, you're right above me." I smiled at her tough smart-alec tone.

"How are you doing?" I could guess how she was doing; she had cuts and bruises on her body and a pretty good-sized lump on the back of her head.

"My head hurts," she said sitting up and brought her hand up to the back of her head. There was no gash, so that was a good sign. "Those bloody bastards came up behind me." Her British accent came through heavy as she tried to stand up but fell. Zach caught her before she hit the ground, though.

"Whoa, take it easy. Maybe you should rest more before trying to jump into action." He helped her stand up and wrapped his arm around her waist to support her. I found her gun and badge hidden in the far corner and picked them up as we made our way to the door and out into the cool night air.

"You know, if I knew just how strong and good smelling you were I would have pretended to faint when I first met you just to have you carry me," she spoke slower than usual due to the head injury. Zach looked down at her and laughed as I heard the sirens in the distance getting closer. "I say he's a keeper," she winked at me. I decided to ignore that and reply to what she'd previously said.

"Well if you had fully thought it through you could have pretended to faint now and he would have carried you," I told her as we made our way to her squad car.

"Oh shut up," she retorted, but a small smile came on her face as two squad cars pulled into the lot followed by an ambulance.

When the four officers came over with the paramedics behind them Bex kept trying to tell them that she was fine, which they didn't believe and forced her to be checked out by the two men.

"Hey, look on the bright side, they're two attractive, muscular guys who will be extremely close to you and putting their hands on you to make sure you aren't too badly injured," I whispered in her ear when she still didn't look convinced. Her face softened and she agreed to the terms of her being checked out with a smile on her face. I heard a laugh behind me and turned around to see Zach with his arms folded against his chest as he leaned against the squad car. "What?" I questioned when he raised his eyebrows at me.

"Nothing," he said as he walked closer to me, but re-worded what he'd previously said when he saw the expression on my face. "The only way you got her to get checked out was by showing her the two hot guys that would be in a close proximity to her."

"For your information I said attractive, not hot."

"Oh, right because there's a difference," he nodded his head like he totally understood. Just then a guy walked up in plain clothes, a gun in the side of his pants, and a badge in the front.

"You must be Cammie Morgan, Rebecca's roommate," he held his hand out for me to shake as he spoke. "I'm Detective Michael Flynn, and you must be Zachary Goode."

The two of them shook hands, as I looked Michael over. He was tall and muscular with dark eyes that looked almost black and short black hair that was naturally spiked. He was wearing a plain shirt that was tucked into his pants and a plaid over-shirt. His shoes were worn and dirty and he didn't have a belt on. He turned back to me and continued, "I wanted to thank you guys personally for finding Rebecca, we owe you a great deal. We'll have to take her back to the station after she's done being checked out by the paramedics to get her statement and to be debriefed." We nodded our heads as someone in the background called his name. "If you'll excuse me," he nodded as he turned around and walked to the other two squad cars. As I turned to Zach I heard Detective Flynn call to Bex.

"Rebecca, come see me when you're all done over there."

"It's Bex," she growled out as he smiled at her. I laughed and faced Zach fully to see him looking over at me.

"Thank you, Zach, for helping me find her. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have you and we didn't find her." He smiled at me as I wrapped my arms around him, taking a deep even breath and breathing him in.

"It was nothing; really, I wanted to help you any way that I could. I'm just glad she's safe and you're not panicking anymore," he teased and I looked up at him with a look on my face. "Come on let's get you home," he said as he watched the hustle and bustle of everyone working around us. "Or," he started as he looked back over to me. "You could come to my place for a drink or two." His voice was unsure as if he didn't want to push me too much.

"A drink sounds nice; especially after the night I've just had. I don't think I'll be getting any sleep anytime soon. Let me just say goodbye to Bex and make sure she's okay before we leave." He nodded his head and I stepped away from him to go over to where Bex was still sitting on the edge of the ambulance.

"Hey," I said as I approached the edge. "How are you doing?"

"Would everyone stop asking how I'm doing? It's like they think I almost died or something."

"Yeah, well you could have. It could have been a lot worse than it was and everybody's just concerned for you because they care about you is all." I sat down next to her and crossed one leg over the other.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm fine by the way; there are just some cuts and bruises. The two guys, Dean and Eric, didn't think I had too bad of a concussion, but they said to take it easy for the next few days and to stay awake for a few more hours."

"That's a good idea," I nodded my head and looked back out at the sea of detectives.

"I have to go back to the station to be debriefed, so I'm just going to stay there all night and work on the case from my desk."

"Just as long as you take it easy," I reminded her because we both knew she liked to push the limits.

"I know, and I will take it easy; I promise. You won't have to worry about me at all."

"I wasn't going to." I looked out again to Zach who had leaned against the squad car and was looking at us. He smiled when he saw me and I smiled back.

"You should go out with him," Bex interrupted my thoughts as she nodded over to Zach. "You know just take the bull by the horns and ask him out if he won't. Everyone knows you guys have a thing for each other." I scoffed and looked over at her.

"We do not have a thing for each other."

"Oh yes you do," she nodded her head and smiled. "You should go home; it's been a big day, for all of us," she added.

"I was actually going to go have a drink with Zach," I said and bit my lip after I was done.

"See that's grabbing the bull by the horns," she pointed out.

"He was the one to invite me."

"Where?"

"Where what?"

"Where did he invite you?"

"To his place for drinks."

"Okay, so if you end up missing I'll know what happened to you."

"Bex," I exclaimed and looked at her. "What happened to you liking the guy and wanting me to ask him out?"

"You can never be too cautious, especially when it's your best friend's heart at stake."

"Okay, I guess I get your point. I should go," I said when I saw Zach start to walk over to us.

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Oh and Cammie," she said right before I got up. "Kiss him for me, and then kiss him for you." I gave her a look, but laughed as I turned away.

"Bye, Bex."

"Or you could do it for just you, but I want all the details," she called as I reached Zach.

"What was that about?" he asked as he looked behind me at Bex who was smiling and giving me a thumbs up.

"Nothing." He raised his eyebrow at me. "Nothing you'd want to know about." He still didn't look convinced but nodded.

"You ready?" he asked me as he handed me one of the helmets.

"Yep, let's get out of here," I said as he kicked the stand up and stepped on the gas.

Once we got to his place he parked the motorcycle in the driveway and walked up to the front door; I followed closely behind him. He pulled out his key and inserted it into the lock. When he turned his hand you could hear the click as it unlocked and he pushed open the door; he held it open for me to walk through and followed closely behind me.

"Well this is my place," he said as he placed the keys on the table that was right inside the entry and he closed the door behind us and locked it. "Make yourself at home while I go and grab us some drinks." He made his way into the kitchen to the left and I walked straight ahead to the living room and looked at the various things that were lying around.

There was a neat stack of CD's on the floor, and a variety of DVD's in the cabinet under the TV. A picture frame was on one of the coffee tables of Zach, Grant, and another guy who I imagined was their friend Jonas. Lastly I saw a pair of shoes sitting in the corner next to the couch.

"We're kind of neat freaks," Zach spoke behind me as he walked into the living room with two beers in his hand. He handed me one of the cold bottles and took a sip of the other one. "Always have been; the school we went to was really big on clean quarters, so it just stuck through the years." He took a seat on the armrest at the end of one of the couches and I took a seat on the edge of the other right beside him.

"Did you go to a private boarding school?" I questioned looking around at the bare walls. There were only a few pictures around the living room but none of them were hung on the walls.

"Something like that." When I looked back over to him he had a sad look on his face and took another swig of his beer. "That was one of the only good things that came out of that school; I was always the only one with clean quarters on my base." He smiled at the memory.

"If your room wasn't clean what was your punishment?"

"Ten laps around the property at 2:30 in the morning. When they came into tell us we had three minutes to meet them outside at the front gates we literally had three minutes. For every minute that we were late we had two laps added onto our ten laps."

"Wow," was all I could think as I thought about what that kind of school must have been like. "How big was the property?"

"Big, I don't know exactly how big it was, but the fastest time I ever completed the ten laps was in one hour. I think that was the fastest time anyone ever completed it in." He licked his lip then bit down on his bottom one. He must have already been in incredible shape by the time he went into the army. I wondered what he looked like in high school, were his muscles like they are now?

"Did you get water breaks, or just breaks for that matter?" He shook his head.

"Well, we didn't get any breaks, but at the beginning we got one small water bottle to have for the whole time. No refills, no stopping."

"How many times did you have to do that punishment?"

"I only did it three times; it was right when I'd gotten there and wasn't used to the rules. If you can believe it I used to be pretty messy. The kind of messy where you can't find most of what you're looking for. Getting in trouble three times was enough for me to learn, and after that day I never had anything out of place. A few months after I'd gotten there, though; I started having trouble sleeping, so I ended up just running because I could work out and get myself so tired that I would fall asleep when I got back to my bunk all in one. Everyone thought I was insane for wanting to do that for fun."

"I bet," I laughed and finished off my beer. "At my school we didn't have anything like that, but our school did teach us extreme self-defense. On Saturday mornings they would set up an obstacle course around the property and we'd have races on who could get through it the fastest. It was kind of like the ones you go through for Army training." He nodded his head in understanding.

"Who held the fastest time?" he asked as he set his empty bottle on the coffee table next to me and I did the same.

"Bex and I tied for the fastest time. It was the ultimate challenge course that only the fastest people went through to see who the ultimate champion was. It was really fun."

"Sounds fun; was Bex in the Army, too?"

"No, it was just me. I followed in my father's footsteps. It basically runs in my family."

"Is that how he died; in the Army?" he hesitated in asking the question, but he kept his eyes locked onto mine.

"No, he wasn't in the Army anymore when he died." He adverted his gaze and changed the subject; he probably didn't want to cross any lines I might have. I knew that he wanted to ask more questions about my father, but he didn't press it.

"I'm sorry," he said instead.

"It's fine, life happens." He nodded agreeing with that. "Could I use your bathroom?"

"Of course, I'll show you where it is." I nodded and stood up, so did he. He led me down the hallway and to a door on the right. I thanked him and closed the door.

When I reopened the door and stepped into the hallway I saw that pictures lined the walls. I looked closely at each of them. There was one of Zach and Grant where Zach had his arm around Grant's shoulders and they were in Army gear in what looked like a camp. Zach had a half smile on his face and Grant grinned at the camera. Another one looked like they were in high school; there was a concrete building behind the three of them that had a sign: Blackthorne. I recognized the place as where Joe had gone to school. Zach was standing in the middle in a short-sleeved shirt. Even in just a picture I could see the formation of his muscles through his shirt; he was incredibly muscular.

I looked at the other pictures on the walls and slowly made my way down the wall in the opposite direction of the living room. Just as I'd gotten to the end of the wall the door right next to me opened and I snapped my head to the side to see Zach walking out of what was most likely his bedroom, shirtless. He held the article of clothing in his hand as he looked at me. My eyes moved over the expanse of his chest to his left shoulder where I could see a scar, I knew that scar. I cleared my throat and looked away as Zach pulled it over his head.

"It's a bullet wound," he finally said once we'd gotten back into the living room. I nodded as he gestured for me to sit. I sat down on the same couch I'd been sitting on before and he sat on the coffee table. "It's actually an interesting story. I normally wouldn't tell anyone my war stories, but I feel like you're an exception." I nodded. I already knew the story, I was there with him when it happened, but I still wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I was stationed on a hill above a small town that was being attacked. It was pitch black and I was still setting up when the moon decided to put me in the spot light. I saw a sniper on the roof across the street from me, and was about to shoot, but he got to me first. I went down at the edge of the trees.

I just kept thinking that I was going to die there, alone. I kept trying to cover the wound but my body was just too heavy. I knew I was going to die then; I was already going light headed and it had only been a minute or so. Then someone was above me and I remembered the person kept repeating, 'stay with me, just stay with me.' That night when you invited me over for dinner; that's the flashback I had, of someone saving me, of a woman saving me. I was too out of it to know what she looked like, though.

When I woke up it was three days later and I was in a hospital that was miles away; it was a town called Ariel. Grant was there and had filled me in on what had happened. I'd been shot, someone saved me and brought me to the hospital, I had surgery, and then there I was.

No one could really tell me anything about the girl who had brought me in, though; they were all so busy that they didn't take down her name, and most of them didn't really remember what she looked like. I have no clue who she is, I don't even know if she's alive. She could have been killed in war after that day for all I know. They told me that she carried me all night just to save me; someone she didn't even know.

When I had woken up I'd found a picture on the nightstand that she must have drawn me before she left, but that's the only thing I have of her, that's the only thing she left."

He looked at me the whole time he told his story. He had this smile on his face, one of pride that made my heart soar. It was as if he was in awe of me, of course he didn't know it was me, but he was in awe nonetheless. There was a sparkle in his eyes as he told me how she had saved him.

"Without her I would have died on the hill on the outside of that small town. I can't stop thinking about her, wondering what she looks like, if she's still alive, where she lives, what her name is. Even today all these questions are circling in my head and it's almost been a year. I keep having a dream about that night on that hillside, when she saved me. I keep hoping that it will become clearer but it hasn't," he finished and looked deep into my eyes.

A part of me wanted to tell him that I was the one to save him right then and there, and I almost did, but then I remembered why I didn't want to tell him; I didn't want him to think differently of me knowing that I was the one to save his life, that I was the one to give him another chance to live. Maybe I should have told him, but I didn't because I knew in the long run some things are better left a secret. Sometimes secrets come unraveled, but for now I was going to let it be. What happens, happens, just let life take it's own path; don't direct it in a certain direction.

"I think she's still alive," I said instead. "She's somewhere out there living her life."

He nodded his head and bit his lip, then looked down at his hands that were clasped in his lap. I realized how close we were then; he was leaning over, his elbows rested on his knees as he looked back up. I was leaning forward, too, and my elbows were also placed on my legs. It was quiet as we looked at each other; there was only about a foot that separated us as he looked right into my eyes as if he could see what I was thinking, but I had no thoughts at that moment.

My eyes moved away from his intense gaze to look right behind him, then at his chin and strong jaw line, and finally to his lips. I saw him rise a little bit from his seated position on the coffee table just as he drew nearer. I could feel his breath against my skin, it was warm as he exhaled; the smell of mint filled every one of my senses. I felt his large hand wrap around the base of my neck as my eyes met his.

He hesitated for a moment before I felt his lips brush against mine. My hand came up to his forearm when he leaned in even further, deepening the kiss. My back hit the back of the couch as he leaned into me, and the hand that wasn't on my neck moved to the headrest as he supported his weight and my hand automatically found his hair.

The doorbell rang and we broke away from the kiss at the same time. I bowed my head to the side to hide my smile as he groaned at the interruption. He pushed himself away from the couch and strode over to the door. I could still feel my lips tingling when he pulled open the door and I turned from my spot on the couch to see Grant leaning against the doorframe.

"Hey, Cammie," he waved over at me once he saw me. I smiled and waved back at him. Zach looked bored with a little annoyance mixed in as he stood holding open the door.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked as he looked at me on the couch, the beer bottles, and then to Zach's expression.

"Are you coming in or not?" Zach asked him instead. Grant looked at him again and then stepped over the threshold into the house. Zach closed and locked the door behind him. Grant walked into the living room and plopped down on the other couch.

"Why didn't you just use your key to get into the apartment?" Zach asked him as Zach came over to the couch I was sitting on and sat down beside me but not too close.

"Yeah, you see I kind of forgot it when I left the apartment." Grant leaned back into the couch and placed his right foot over his left knee. "So, Cammie what are you doing here?" From the corner of my eye I saw Zach's head snap up in Grant's direction.

"Relax," I told Zach as I turned back to Grant. "I know what you meant. Zach invited me over for drinks and after the day I had I couldn't turn him down." Not that I wanted to – I thought, but never said.

"What happened," he questioned as he sat up even straighter. He must have seen the drained looks on both of our faces.

"One of my best friends, Bex, went missing earlier while working a case for the Roseville Homicide Division. We finally found her after hours of looking, but there was just a lot of stress that went along with it in those few hours." He nodded to what I was saying before he leaned back into the couch.

"Do you guys want to watch a movie?" he asked after a beat of silence.

"Sure," Zach said before he looked over at me. "I'll watch something with you if Cammie wants to." I nodded my head and smiled over at Zach. He kept my gaze for a moment before he turned back to Grant and asked him what movie he wanted to watch. I ended up sitting in the middle of the couch Grant was on with Zach on my right and Grant on my left. Grant turned down the lights as the movie started.

When the movie ended the three of us talked about the crux of the movie and what we thought it was really about. Grant soon excused himself to go get ready for bed and that's when I looked at the time. I leaned back into the couch and closed my eyes for a minute. When I opened them I saw Zach looking at me again.

"If you want you can stay here for the night. It's late and you've had a stressful day, I wouldn't want you to be alone." I smiled at him.

"I wouldn't be totally alone. Ranger is back at my place, and thank you for the offer. I think I'll take you up on it for tonight." He nodded and went to get up.

"You can take my bed and I'll take the couch," he stated as he started to turn away.

"No," my voice came out firm yet gentle at the same time. He turned back around. "I'll take the couch, you stay in your bed. You were already kind enough to come out and help me find Bex and let me stay here for the night. I'm not going to deprive you of your bed. I'm taking the couch." He opened his mouth to argue, but I beat him to it. "Either I get the couch or no deal." He must have known I was serious because he shut his mouth for a moment.

"I'll go and get you some blankets and a pillow." He turned and disappeared down the hallway.

"So, tell me about this friend of yours, Bex was her name?" Grant walked in from the same hall Zach had just disappeared down. "You said something about Homicide?"

"Yeah, she's a Detective for the Roseville Homicide Division. She's one of the best," I added at the end because I couldn't help but brag about my best friend. He nodded.

"Now, since I'm bored and I have nothing else to do I'm going to keep asking you questions about your friends." I laughed at that as he sat next to me and threw his arm over the back of the couch and turned to face me. "I saw a glimpse of your friends the day Zach gave back one of their cards, but I don't know who is who, so which one was Bex?"

"Well Bex is the one with darker skin and the brown hair. She's the really muscular one," I added.

"Ah yes, the fierce looking one." I laughed again.

"Yeah, I guess she is."

"Okay, and what about the other ones?" I heard a cabinet close down the hall.

"There's Liz who was the one to drop her card; she's the small one. She works at a Lab. Then there's Macey the tall one who's a model." He raised his eyebrows. "And she's also working for security for one of the power-people in Roseville." He nodded again.

A few minutes later Zach walked into the room with a pile of blankets. Grant and I had been laughing about a story he was telling me about a young Zach. Zach sent a look to Grant before he placed the blankets on the arm of the couch next to me.

"Well I'll let you get to bed," Grant said as he stood up from the couch. "It was nice to get to know you Cammie," he said as he turned away.

"You too, Grant." He waved at me and then disappeared down the hallway.

"There's also a pair of my sweatpants there in case you want something comfier than your jeans," Zach said and I nodded. I couldn't help but remember what Grant had said. I tried to hide my smile and failed as I broke into a grin.

"You never told me that you threw up and could barely walk for three days after your first punishment run and everyone else was fine," I said as he was turning off the TV. He turned to me.

"Yeah, well I didn't want my credit to be lessened by that. Besides it wasn't important." He looked down at his hands. "I didn't want you to think I was weak."

"Oh please, I could never think you were weak. You're the strongest guy I know. Besides, it makes me feel better about myself that you weren't Mr. Perfect at everything, and I have a similar story. The first obstacle course I did I had one of the worst times and I sprained my ankle jumping over a hurdle." He smiled and then tried to hide it, but it made him laugh. "See, you're not the only one who had difficulties."

"Okay, that does make me feel better. I'll go so you can get ready for bed." I nodded as he left.

As quickly as I could I pulled on the sweatpants Zach had given me and made a bed out of the blankets on the couch. I heard Zach walk into the living room as I was combing out my hair with my fingers.

"I was just coming in to say that if you need anything in the middle of the night you can come get me; you know where my room is, and if you need any water or food you can help yourself to anything. The TV remote is on the stand and it's pretty easy to use." He stuffed his hands into his pant pockets.

"Thanks," I said and walked over to him. "And thank you for everything that you did for me today. You didn't have to, but you did, so thank you."

"It was my pleasure." He looked like he wanted to kiss me by the way he looked at me, but he just rocked on the balls of his feet. "Goodnight, Cammie."

"Goodnight, Zach," I said as I leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek.

After Zach turned and walked away I made my way to the couch and climbed into the blankets. I reached over and switched off the light surrounding myself in darkness.

**Author's Note: Well, Zach and Cammie finally kissed, which I'm pretty sure a lot of you were waiting for. I don't count Chapter Nine: Shooting at Close Range a kiss because their lips brushed, but there wasn't actual meet-age. Also there are only three more chapters until the end of this story, and I hope you liked it.**

**The town that was mentioned, Ariel, was inspired from the show "Firefly". Yes, that was my second reference to that show. For anyone who doesn't know that show it was a Sci-Fi space western show, which was sadly cancelled, and had the actor Nathan Fillion in it. He now plays Richard Castle on the murder mystery show "Castle" that I absolutely love. **

**Fun-fact about me: I love murder mysteries, any murder mystery show that comes on I'll watch even if I don't know the characters. Some of my favorite murder mystery shows are: Castle, Bones, Criminal Minds, and Forever.**

**Quote: "The simplest gesture of encouragement can make a world of a difference." – Unknown. "The most powerful words you can say to someone with an invisible illness is… I believe you." –Unknown. **

**-GymGirl904.**


	12. Chapter Twelve: Shadows

**Chapter Twelve: Shadows.**

My eyes fluttered open as I sat up. It was still dark outside and when I checked the time it was only three in the morning and everything was silent. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and took a deep breath. I just sat there for a minute before I got up and grabbed the remote from its charger. I curled my legs up under me as I turned on the TV. There was no way I would be able to sleep after that dream; the memory was too real, too familiar. The sound on the TV came on before the image did; I turned down the volume so as not to wake the other two, and I was soon absorbed in the crime that was taking place in the cop show. It took my mind off things and I was slowly forgetting about the crime in my memory.

I saw something at the same time I heard a creak and looked over to Zach, who was yet again shirtless, standing at the end of the hallway. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger before he looked up and saw me on the couch. He slid his shirt over his head as he made his way to the couch; his elbows popped as he stretched them over his head and plopped down on the couch next to me. He reached over me and pulled one of the blankets from the pile to cover himself.

"Sorry if I woke you," I whispered to him.

"You didn't wake me. I couldn't sleep so I decided to get up."

"Me either," I told him as the show started to wrap up. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I don't know; I just can't sleep some nights." I nodded as he looked over at me. "What about you, why can't you sleep?" I shrugged.

"I had a memory from when I was younger, can't sleep because of it."

"It was that bad?" The show ended and I muted the TV.

"Yeah, it was of when my father died." Zach looked down at his hands. I knew he wanted to ask, and I actually wanted him to ask, too. "I was ten when he died," I spoke after he never said anything. "The reports say that it was a mugging gone wrong, that he tried to defend himself, tried to stop them and they stabbed him. The reports don't know the truth, though; they're wrong." Zach snapped his head over to me.

"You saw what happened?" He looked shocked.

"Yeah," I nodded my head. "I watched the whole thing; I saw my father die. It wasn't a mugging gone wrong, though; I know that for certain."

"What did happen?"

"I was home alone when I saw my dad walking down the street towards our house. Two big guys came up to him and they started talking, then yelling and my dad tried to get away but they grabbed him. One of them pulled out a knife and held it to his throat. I watched from the window as it looked like they threatened him. Then, they stabbed him, three times in the stomach. I screamed and they ran. I called 911 and dropped the phone. I knew they would trace the number to our house. I ran out the front door into the street to see him laying half on the sidewalk and half in the road.

He was barely breathing when I got to him. I put pressure on the wounds, and I told him help was coming. He told me that sometimes bad things happen that can't be stopped. That he was proud of me, and that he was going to die, but he wasn't sad because he kept his secret and that was all that mattered. He would miss me and my mom and that he loved us so much.

After that he just kept saying that he didn't let them win, he didn't give it to them. I don't know what it was, but whatever he knew he died keeping it safe and that was all that mattered to him; that and knowing that we were safe. He died before the police and paramedics got there, though, and I was the one who closed his eyes. When my mom got the call she came right over. She didn't know that I saw the attack, she didn't know I watched him die, no one did, and I didn't have it in me to tell my mom that I watched my dad be murdered.

No one had a clue why anyone would hurt him, he was a good man and everyone loved him, so they assumed it was an attempted mugging gone wrong."

When I finished I felt Zach's hand brush against mine as he looked into my eyes with a sullen expression.

"I'm really sorry, Cammie. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you." I nodded and looked over at him.

"All these years I keep thinking about what he said. He didn't give it to them, he kept his secret; I just want to know what was so important to them that they had to kill him, and who killed him. All these years and I still don't know why."

"You'll figure it out, maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but someday you'll know."

We sat in silence for a while; his thumb ran up and down the back of my hand.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he looked back at me.

"Yeah, kind of, why?"

"Do you want to help me make pancakes?" I smiled.

"I would love that." He nodded and stood up. He extended his hand down to me to help me up and I took it. After he pulled me up he kept a hold on my hand and led me into the kitchen.

"So what are your plans now that you're out of the Army?" Zach asked as he got out two plates and two forks. I was mixing the batter as we waited for the stove to heat up.

"I was thinking of using my skills from the Army and go apply for Roseville Intelligence. What about you?"

"I had the same thought, use the skills I know and use what I'm good at to make a difference in the world."

"When were you planning on going in?" I asked as I added in chocolate chips.

"I'm not quite sure; sometime in the near future, maybe a few weeks or so."

"Maybe we can go in together."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Some of the batter started to drip down the side of the bowl and I wiped my finger along the side to collect it. I licked it off my finger and then noticed that some had gotten on the counter. I collected it on my fingers again and was turning to wash off my hands when Zach stepped behind me. I didn't have time to move my hand and it hit his nose leaving behind the batter. Zach gave me a look as I bit back a laugh.

"Really?"

"It was an accident I swear. I didn't do that on purpose." He raised his eyebrows at me and shook his head, but he smiled as he wiped it off his face.

I made my way to the sink to wash off my hands and turned around to be met with Zach's hand on my face.

"Oops, that was totally an accident," he said oh so innocently with a smirk on his face. I shook my head at him as I grabbed a paper towel and wiped off the excess batter from his nose and my own. Kiss him; just kiss him- I thought as his lips parted and I stared at him a moment longer.

"You should probably put the pancakes on the stove now," I said instead and he nodded slowly. He was even slower to turn around and grab the mixing bowl.

"Okay, not that I'm not happy I didn't have to make breakfast, and pancakes are good and everything, but why are you guys making pancakes at four o'clock in the morning?" Grant asked as he shuffled into the kitchen. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his eyes were clouded with sleep. His muscles, like Zach's, bulged as he moved his hand over his face. He slowly made his way to a cabinet and pulled out a glass and filled it with water.

"We both couldn't sleep so we decided to make pancakes. Sorry that we woke you," Zach told his friend as Grant sat on one of the bar stools.

"Nah, you guys didn't wake me. My phone went off and woke me up." He took a sip from his water. "I'm going to go put a shirt on and then I'll be back," he said as if he remembered he was shirtless and I was there. I laughed.

"What?" Zach asked as he turned to me; he held a spatula in one hand.

"He said that like he didn't think I'd seen any guys shirtless before."

"Actually that wasn't all of it. It's just that I don't really know you, so I thought it was a little weird being half naked and all," Grant spoke again as he made his way back into the kitchen. "How many guys have you seen shirtless?" he added as an afterthought.

"My fair share," I spoke from the sink; my back was pressed against the cool granite and my arms were folded over my chest. "I mean I did share a base with seven guys."

"You weren't the only girl, though, right? There were others?" Zach asked as he slid some of the pancakes onto a plate.

"Yeah, there were other girls on the base, I was just the only one in field."

"Where did they work?"

"Two were nurses, two worked with the computers and gadgets, one was a physical therapist and helped with rehabilitation after injury, one was in cooking, and one was a mechanic." They both looked impressed; I smiled.

"Do you have any fun stories of your time on base?" Zach placed more pancakes on a plate as he asked.

"Ooh, story time, story time is always fun," Grant said excitedly as he rubbed his hands together.

Zach placed all of the pancakes on the island and we sat down to eat. I took my first bite before I started my favorite story.

"There was this girl named Clara who was one of the nurses and she hated rats, she was so afraid of them, and one morning at like four thirty she was taking a shower when a huge rat ran across the shower floor and she screamed bloody murder. Nate, who was already slightly awake, was the first one to burst into the bathroom and when he did she ran into his arms even though she was completely naked. The rest of us ran in behind him and some of us, like me, had our guns drawn to see her still clinging to Nate.

Of course he'd noticed she was naked; I mean it would be hard not to, but he was quite a gentleman about it because when we all came rushing in he covered her so everyone wouldn't see her naked."

"That is one of the best stories I've ever heard. We're going to keep her here forever if it means more amazing stories."

"You do know that I can just get up and leave anytime, right?"

"Well, yeah, and then I'd just kidnap you and bring you back," Grant said.

"That'll work," I said sarcastically as I grabbed another pancake. "Now it's your turn to tell me a story about the Army." We sat there at the island for several more hours as we went around telling each other our Army stories, and it felt like I was just chatting with old friends.

**Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter, and there are only two more chapters left in this story. **

**The story about the rat is an actual story I got off a site, but I tweaked a few things. The actual story, though, was that this woman was taking a shower and her husband's brother, her brother-and-law, was crashing on their couch. The husband had already gone to work, so it was just her and her sleeping brother-and-law. Anyways, she sees this mouse run across the bathroom floor and screams. Her brother-and-law, who was only wearing boxers, comes running in and she leaps into his arms still screaming, and he's holding onto her. The husband forgot something and comes back home to get it, and walks in on his half naked brother holding onto his naked wife. Of course there was some explaining to do, but after it was all done he just laughed.**

**Quote: "Don't judge people. You never know what kind of battle they are fighting." – Unknown. "Judging a person does not define who they are; it defines who you are." – Unknown.**

**-GymGirl904.**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Signature

**Chapter Thirteen: Signature.**

**September 4****th****:**

I checked the time on my watch; it was five minutes past two o'clock in the afternoon. I stood next to the dolphin fountain outside the front doors. I could see a guard on the other side of the door and I counted fifteen security cameras just on the front side of the building and I was pretty sure there was one in the dolphin's mouth.

I saw Zach walking down the sidewalk to my right as he turned the corner to the fountain.

"Sorry I'm late, I got held up," he said as he came into step beside me and we walked towards the door.

I was met with a cool freshness as I stepped into the clean room. The guard looked us over and checked our IDs before we went over to the desk on the back wall.

"We're here to see Director Hayden Brooks. We have a two fifteen meeting." I looked at the clock on the wall behind the girl and saw that it said 2:11.

"You'll want to go to the left into those elevators and up to the fifth floor. He'll meet you in the conference room; fifth one on the right." She pointed over to the elevators and I thanked her.

As we turned to go that way I saw another smaller fountain pushed back into the corner that had sea turtles this time. We made our way into the elevator in silence and it wasn't until the doors closed that Zach turned to me.

"Did you ever imagine that we'd end up here?"

"No I didn't, sometimes I didn't even know if I'd make it home let alone going to a meeting to join Roseville Intelligence." I shook my head in disbelief as I looked over at him.

"I always knew that I wanted to help people from the time I was little, but I never imagined it would be by serving my Country and going into this field." I nodded and heard the ding of the fourth floor as we passed.

I felt Zach's hand brush against mine just as the elevator dinged again and the doors slid open revealing a long hallway filled with rooms on either side. To the right, windows lined the back of the offices and looked out at the town. I heard Zach take a deep breath at the same time I did and we stepped out together onto the plush carpeting.

When we reached the fifth room on the right the door was open and a middle-aged man sat at one end of a small table. There were two swivel chairs at the other end of the table and two glasses of water. Zach knocked on the open door just to let him know we were there. The man looked up at us and stood before he made his way over to us.

"Zachary Goode and Cameron Morgan," he said as he shook both of our hands.

"It's nice to meet you Director Brooks," I said as he motioned us over to the two empty chairs.

"Please call me Hayden." He sat down in his chair and took a sip of his water. I looked out the window for a brief moment to see a car pass by on the street. The town of Roseville is so beautiful. "Now let's discuss business." He folded his arms on the table. "You both were interested in doing fieldwork, correct?"

"Yes, sir," we both replied and he nodded his head. He had a pad of paper and a pencil and wrote something down.

"Okay, so since you guys are both interested in doing fieldwork the basis is that you'll be sent on an assignment for a certain period of time; some assignments will be longer than others. Sometimes you will be paired up with each other, sometimes you will have other partners, and sometimes you will be sent on solo missions.

"Each assignment will have its risks, no assignment will be risk free, so you'll have to keep that in mind in signing up."

"That won't be a problem, sir, we were both Army."

"Ah, yes I think that was mentioned in our earlier conversation. So, with that said we can move on to other things." Zach took a sip of his water and I could feel his leg nervously bouncing under the table.

"You'll each be given your own office just down the hall. You'll start out doing some assignments in the building and you'll have to do some training, so we know what attributes you excel in and what ones are weaker for each of you; that will help in deciding what sort of assignments we'll send you on in the future."

Hayden clicked his pen against his notepad as he spoke. Zach rubbed his hands against his pants leg and took another sip of water. I placed my hand over his and ran my fingers across his. He flipped his hand over and laid my hand over his. He gently squeezed my hand as if in appreciation and I squeezed back.

"So, if there are any more questions I'd be happy to answer them, or we could move on." Zach and I both shook our heads and Hayden nodded again. "Okay then," he said as he grabbed his brief case that had been sitting against the edge of the table. He snapped it open and pulled out two packets of paper. He slid the two packets over to us with two pens.

"You don't have to read every single page, the most important ones are the ones with the highlighted numbers on the bottom of the pages. You'll have to sign the places with the X's next to them and if you wish to read the rest of the packet you'll have two weeks to decide if this is really what you want to do."

Zach and I both nodded and I heard both of our pens click. Zach quickly signed on the X's, then glanced over and watched me sign mine. When we were both done we clicked our pens closed and put it on top of the packets. I slid mine back over to Hayden, and Zach did the same as Hayden collected both of them and placed them back in his briefcase.

We stood up, shook his hand and thanked him, then turned and headed out to the elevators. Zach was silent the whole way down; his eyes were focused on the closed elevator doors in front of us. He never said a word as we made our way through the lobby and I waved to the girl at the front desk. The guard opened the door for us and I thanked him and walked out in front of Zach. I was just past the fountain when Zach finally spoke.

"It was you," he said, no question in his voice. I turned around to see that he stood at the edge of the fountain, not moving. His stare was directed right at me and his hands hung down at his sides. I swallowed.

"It was me, what?" I asked even though I knew what he was referring to.

"I saw your signature when we were in the meeting; I remember it from the signature that's on the drawing I received when I was in the hospital. When I got shot on the hill over Tayma, you're the one who saved me." I nodded my head. He walked over to where I was. "Why didn't you say anything? You had a chance when I had a flashback to say that you were the one that put pressure on my wound, and the night Bex went missing and I told you about what happened you had a chance to speak up and say you were the one who saved me. You knew I was wondering where she ended up, if she was even alive and you never said anything. Why, why didn't you say anything?" He wasn't angry, but he looked confused, and a little hurt as if he didn't understand why I wouldn't tell him something as simple as that.

"I wanted to, Zach. That night when you told me what happened and how you kept having the memory of it and not knowing. I wanted to tell you that it was me, so you'd know that I was okay and alive, but I just couldn't. You have to understand, Zach, when I saved you I was saving a stranger, someone I thought I wouldn't see again. When you came to Roseville I didn't know why you were here and you didn't even know who I was.

"How would I go about saying that I saved your life when you didn't know me. 'Hey you don't know me, but I saved your life. If it weren't for me you'd be dead.' I was an unknown hero and that was fine with me, the only part that mattered was that I saved you; I didn't care about the fame of saving you."

"You could have told me later when we got to know each other better. You could have said something when I told you about what happened. All this time you knew who I was and you knew what happened, but you didn't say anything."

"I know, and I almost did, but by that time I didn't know how to tell you. I'd fallen for you and I didn't want you to like me because you knew I saved you. I didn't want you to fall for me because I gave you a second chance at life. I wanted you to like me for who I was not what I did. I just didn't know what to say." I shook my head and looked up at him. His gaze pierced mine.

"I did like you for who you were, nothing would have changed that. Nothing has. I'm grateful that you saved me, but that wouldn't change how I feel about you." I nodded and reached out for his hand. He let me slip my hand in his for a moment, and he lightly squeezed my hand before he pulled his back. "I have to go, I told Grant that I'd meet him at the gym at 3:30." He started to walk back the way he'd come. I followed him to the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Zach, for your sake, but if I could go back I wouldn't change a thing. Everything happens for a reason, and you can't mess with fate. I knew that I saved you and that was enough for me; I didn't need the acknowledgement of it." He nodded and turned around again.

I felt a hand clamp down on my arm; at first I thought it was just someone who'd been walking on the sidewalk, but then I felt something cool and metal press against my throat. It probably wasn't the smartest thing, but I screamed out to Zach as tires screeched behind me. Zach whipped around as my legs were bound and my hands were tied behind my back.

I could feel the knife dig into my throat as Zach sprinted down the sidewalk trying to get to me; I was pulled into the back of the van and pushed roughly to the floor. The man sat on top of me to keep me from getting up, but I still continued to scream. Just before the door closed I saw Zach pull his gun from his waistband and aim at the car. He hit the driver in the shoulder making him scream and the door slammed shut. Zach kept shooting until we'd turned the corner and were out of sight.

**Author's Note: I hope you liked the chapter. There's only one more chapter left in this story, and you won't have to wait a whole week for it; I will be posting the final chapter on Wednesday. **

**Quote: "Maybe I don't cry – but it hurts. Maybe I won't say – but I feel. Maybe I don't show – but I care." – Unknown. "I wish I could give you my pain, not to hurt you, but to make you understand how I feel." – Unknown. **

**"****The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain." – Unknown. **

**"****The best things in life are unseen. That's why we close our eyes: when we kiss, when we cry, when we dream." – Unknown. **

**-GymGirl904.**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Explosion

**Chapter Fourteen: Explosion.**

"Well look who's finally awake," a deep voice said as I opened my eyes. It was dark, a single lantern hung from the wall in front of me. I heard footsteps as a man walked into the light. He was big, tall, and had dark features. He was the kind of guy you'd want to be on his side rather than against him. I looked around at my surroundings and saw that I was in what appeared to be an empty barn, and from the light on the wall I could see that it was dark outside. I didn't know how many hours had passed, but I knew it was quite a few.

"Who are you?" I rasped out as my throat burned.

"I'm someone you don't want to mess with, but too bad for you since that has already happened." He towered over me, his hands clasped behind his back. I looked up at him.

"Who are you," I repeated again, this time I was more forceful and my throat didn't burn as much.

"I am the one who is going to make your life a living hell, that's who I am." He strode back over to the wall in front of me and I saw him pour something into a glass. "I'd say sorry for giving you that burning feeling in your throat, those chemicals can be hard on the system, but I really don't care. On the other hand I want you to tell me everything and you're voice wouldn't sound so annoying if you had some water." He came back over to me and put a cup of water in my face.

"I'm not taking anything from you." I pulled my head away from his hand and turned my head away.

"Oh it's so sweet that you think you have a choice. Now drink," he growled as he grabbed my face to make me look at him. Then he shoved the cup in my face and forced it into my mouth. I tried to spit it back out but he forced even more into my mouth. When he pulled back his arm I coughed and sputtered as I choked on some of it.

I glared up at him as he sneered down at me and I wiped my wet chin on my shoulder to get the water off. My ankles were bound to the legs of the chair and my arms were tied around the back of the chair. The rope cut into my skin as I tried to move my arms.

"Oh, and if you were wondering, the driver your precious boyfriend shot is going to be fine; although Robert is pretty mad that he'll be out of commission for a little while." I scoffed at him as he set the cup on the counter behind him rather roughly.

"What do you want from me?" I didn't even know who this man was, let alone what he could have wanted with me.

"Revenge, I want revenge." He stalked back over to me and hit me, sending my face jerking to the side.

"And why would you want that?" I asked after I'd straightened my head back.

"Because you," his dirty finger poked my chest as he spoke. "Took away something that was very dear to me."

"Oh really, well how would I know what I took away if you don't tell me who you are."

"You wouldn't know me even if I said my name, but I guess since we're playing this game I'll tell you. I am Visily Romani, you are Cameron Ann Morgan, and you killed my son, Vincent. He was a good guy, a leader, and you killed him. He was feared and loved at the same time for his leading of the Pythons."

"The Pythons, they're the gang that normally hangs on Wilking Lane. Your son led that gang?" I had no idea that Vincent Romani used to run that gang.

"Did you ever think that I've been watching you for a while, Cameron? I've had my eyes on you since you got back."

"The gang was there when I was going to that house after the barbeque."

"Yes, although they weren't prepared for Zach to show up and for you to kick their butts."

"And they kidnapped Bex, didn't they? Why did they go after her?"

"Because if they got her then we knew you'd go looking for her, and after she was found the Detectives would take her back to the station for a debriefing. You'd be home alone and I'd be able to get my hands on you, but then you decided to go to your little boyfriend's apartment for a rendezvous and I wasn't able to get you."

"So you decided that you'd abduct me in broad daylight on the street in front of Roseville's Intelligence Agency with an ex Sniper just down the street?"

"Well you couldn't make it any harder for me, but it was a little bit exhilarating."

"So you've been stalking me for months because I killed your son in the war where a lot of people die?"

"Yes, you shot him three times, and then just walked away without a care in the world." He moved and got another chair, sat down in it, and then leaned forward so that he was a foot away from me. I liked it a lot better when it was Zach being that close to me – I thought as I remembered the night we kissed. I moved back as far as I could to get away from him, which wasn't far because I was tied up.

"I've never killed any fellow Americans; I've only targeted bad people."

"Well, yes, I know that, but he was posing as one of the bad people to get information back to me."

"Are you sure he wasn't just being himself?" He gave me a sharp look. "How do you know what happened over there anyways?"

"I've got eyes everywhere, I make it my responsibility to know everything that goes on. So that is why I want my revenge, but I won't kill you, not yet at least. We're going to have some fun first."

I internally cringed as he sneered at me again and ran his finger down my cheek. He brought his hand back and I could feel the sting as he hit my upper cheek. He wore a big ring that no doubt had just left a very nasty scratch. I felt blood drip down my cheek as he laughed and I bit my lip to keep from running my mouth. I ran my busted lip over my shoulder and tasted blood.

"What game should we play first, do you have a preference, dear Cameron?" I spit in his face and watched as he wiped away the blood that was mixed in with my spit. "Sorry, that one's not an option," he replied sarcastically.

"How about we play the game of you telling me exactly who you are," I spoke slowly as I leaned forward. I got in his face this time before I moved back in my chair.

"Very well then. Well let's see, I'm someone you don't want to mess with; I don't care who pays the price as long as I get what I want; you killed my son, Vincent, so I want revenge," he said as he ticked them off on his hand. Then with a wicked smile he added, "Oh and I killed your father." My head snapped up to meet his dead looking eyes. "Oh," he said looking at my expression. "You didn't know that? Well, it looks like I got your attention. Now, where were we? Oh, yes, you telling me what I want to know."

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything now that I know just what kind of monster you really are?"

"Because if you don't then you'll be seeing your Daddy really soon."

"I thought you said you wouldn't kill me," I retorted.

"Not yet, like I said, I want to have some fun first. But when that fun ends I'm going to have such a good time putting you down just like I did your father." He talked about my father like he was some kind of an animal, like he was dirt. I wanted to hurt him so badly.

"Your father was a fighter, he almost got away, but I always find who I'm looking for. It would have been simple, all he had to do was give me what I wanted and everything would be okay, but no he wouldn't give it up. After years I finally got tired of his games and knew there was no point to keep him around, so you know, a little stab here and another stab there and he was dealt with." I growled out and fought against my restraints trying to get to him. He just laughed and smiled cruelly.

"Are you going to follow in your father's footsteps? I know you followed his footsteps into the Army. Do you want to follow his footsteps in the way you die, because that can certainly be arranged? Oh," he clapped his hands almost excitedly. "We can kill you in front of your little boyfriend just like your father died in front of you. How does that sound?"

"You sick son of a – "

"Now, now, someone as pretty as you shouldn't be using that kind of language." I ground my teeth against each other, seething with fury. He yanked my head back and stood over me. "Now, enough with the games; tell me where it is."

"Even if I knew what you were talking about I wouldn't tell you." I seriously had no idea what he was talking about.

"Your father had something that I wanted, something I needed, and he wouldn't give it up. You must know what it was; you were always Daddy's little girl following him around everywhere. So, I'll ask you one more time, where is it?" I lifted my head in defiance and his fist collided with my face once again. I spit out the blood and looked him in the eye.

"You want to know where it is," I said after a moment of silence. "I'll tell you, but you have to come here." He stopped his pacing and looked over at me. He strode over to me and sat back down in his chair. "Closer," I said in a whisper. He leaned in cautiously. "Ready?" He gave me a stern look and I smiled. Blood trickled into my mouth. "You can go to hell, I will never tell you anything." Then I spit in his face as he screamed in anger. He shot up from his seat and threw his chair across the room before he swung around and his fist connected with my face one last time.

When I opened my eyes it was morning, probably around nine due to the position of the sun in the sky. I was able to look around and see that the barn was basically a long hall with almost nothing in it. The rope around my wrists and ankles dug into my skin that caused an ache, and my muscles were tight. My lip was busted open and my head hurt. When I squinted my eyes against the sun I could feel the dried blood crusted on my face move.

Once I had become aware of my surroundings I started paying attention to the noises I heard. There was the slight rustle of leaves as a small wind picked up, the chirp of birds talking to one another, and a slight ticking. I listened more closely to the ticking, and realized it was coming from under the chair. I looked over the side of the chair and saw the small explosive device that lay under it. There was a wire that ran up to the chair and along the underside. It must have been motion sensitive and when I moved it started counting down. I looked at the numbers that were on the top of the explosive. 1:23:15:09 – One hour, twenty-three minutes, fifteen and nine hundredths of a second.

"Oh, yay," I muttered sarcastically to myself as I sat back up and looked straight ahead at the closed barn door.

I thought about my options: sit and wait and hope that Visily Romani came back before it blew because he'd know how to disable it, sit and wait until it went off, or make a run for it knowing that the moment I got off the chair it would blow.

Just as I had finished thinking over my best options the barn door slid open and I straightened my back thinking it was Romani coming back. Instead I found Zach's piercing eyes looking straight into mine.

"Zach," I breathed out when I saw him, but then I realized that he was here and Romani could come back at any time. "Zach, Visily Romani, he's the one who took me, he might come back any second." He'd made his way over to me by now and he crouched on the ground in front of the chair.

"You don't have to worry about that now. Hayden and some others followed him into town; they'll get him. Now we just need to get you out of here." He pulled out a pocketknife and cut off the ropes that tied my legs to the chair; he then moved on to undo the knots that bound my hands.

"I can't get up, Zach. The bomb is pressure sensitive if I move it blows." He nodded and looked down at the device.

"I think I can delay it, if I tweak the right wires it'll give us a few seconds to make a run for it, or I can see if I can disable it altogether. Let me see what I can do." He looked up at me before he got up and picked up a few tools that were lying around and brought them back over to the chair.

"How did you know where I was?" I asked as he got to work unscrewing the top of the bomb.

"When I started shooting, the guards came out and saw the back of the van. I explained what had happened and they took me back inside the building to talk to Hayden. I gave him the license plate and the description of the guys who took you. They told me that they've been trying to get Romani for a long time, but they never had enough to book him. This is what they needed to take him down. You're okay, right," he said looking up from his work. "He didn't hurt you too badly did he?" His hand came up and touched the side of my face where there was dried blood. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine; although I am sitting on a bomb." His thumb brushed over my lips and he laughed before he turned back to his work. "He killed my father, Zach." My voice was small. Zach nodded and looked up, gave me a sympathetic look, and then turned back to what he was doing.

It felt like hours that he was working on the bomb, hours of me doing nothing, hours of me wondering if we'd make it out alive, hours of me hearing the haunting tick of the bomb as it continued to count down.

"Cammie," Zach's voice brought me back to the here and now. I looked down at him as he sat up from his lying position on the floor. "I can't do anything else. I can only tweak it for five seconds, I can't disengage it all together." He looked sorry, but I nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Zach, for everything." He got up and walked over to the barn door and pushed it open until it was fully open. He walked back over to where I was and made sure that he wired the delay before he turned to me.

"On the count of three we run." He stood diagonal to me and he looked back to me.

"You go, Zach, you go first. Run, and then I'll run." He shook his head.

"No, we both run, I'm not leaving you." I nodded as Zach counted one and two and at three I bolted upright and sprinted as fast as I could to the barn doors, Zach was right beside me.

Right as we'd gotten outside the doors, there was a blast as the bomb went off, throwing us off our feet and spinning us. Zach tried to protect me as we hit the ground, but I felt the back of my head hit the rough dirt and the wind got knocked out of me. Zach landed over me as he cushioned me from some of the falling debris.

"Oh, God," I heard him say over me. "Cammie, oh God, Cammie." He lightly shook me and I felt his hand on my face. "Cammie, please," he pleaded as he ran his hand down my face.

"I'm fine, Zach, my head just hurts." He let out a breath and I could see the smile on his face once I opened my eyes. "It just knocked the wind out of me."

Zach sat up and helped pull me up into his chest. He held me to him as he looked at me. He brushed the dirt off me and made sure I wasn't hurt.

"We should probably get you to the hospital to make sure you don't have a concussion." He started to pull away to get to his motorcycle that was down the street a ways.

"Zach," I said as I turned to him.

He turned around and I walked the foot distance to him and pressed my lips to his. I wrapped my hands around his neck and he wound his around my waist. I pulled back for a second to whisper a thank you before I placed my lips back over his. I ran my hand along his back and down his side and when I got to his waist he pulled back in a cringe. I pulled back from his hold on me and looked up at him; he looked away.

"You're hurt," I said simply when he didn't say anything.

"I'm fine," he tried to tell me, but I'd already pulled up the side of his shirt to see a big bruise starting to form.

"We should get you to a hospital to get checked out, too."

"Or we could kiss again and you'd know not to put your hand there," he called after me as I started to walk to his bike. I laughed, but made my way back over to him. I cupped his face and pulled him into a soft kiss. When I pulled back he was looking at me and I grabbed his hand to pull him along behind me.

"You should also call Hayden and let him know that I'm fine, but the barn didn't make it." He nodded and pulled out his phone. When he was finished talking with Hayden he turned back to me where I was leaning against the side of the motorcycle. He placed his left hand to the side of me.

"Well now we're even. You saved me from dying and I saved you. I told you it didn't change anything." He smiled and reached over to grab my helmet.

"Danger's always going to be finding us; we'll just have to stick together so we can save each other together." He nodded and handed me the helmet and grabbed his own. He climbed onto the bike and I followed. "Don't worry I won't touch your waist," I said as he started the engine. He grabbed my hand and wrapped it around his waist, anyways. With that we were off.

**Two months later:**

"Hey, Cammie." There was a knock on my open office door. I looked up and saw Zach step in.

"Hey," I said and walked around my desk to meet him. "What's up?" He held a file folder under one arm as he played with something on my desk.

"I found something for you; it's something you'll want to see." I nodded as he handed me the file. "I found some information on your father, about Visily Romani." I sat down in the chair on the opposite side of my desk and Zach sank into the other one. I opened it up.

"After you told me about your father and what he kept saying, and then that Visily Romani killed him, I did some research to try and figure out what he knew that Romani wanted."

"And what did you find out," I asked as I looked through some of the papers.

"When your father was in the Army he ran across some Americans that were being held captive. He called it in and helped them escape. He learned their names and what had happened; Visily Romani abducted them for information on what was going on in D.C. His plan was to blow up a conference with the McHenry's inside. All he needed was their inside information to know where the McHenry's would be and when. Your father got in the way of that. As it turned out, Romani hadn't even gotten their names, so he then needed to know their names in order to find them, but your father made sure that didn't happen. When he put it in his report for his platoon he encrypted the names of the hostages. He still wants the names because a man like Visily Romani isn't just going to walk away from something like that. He's going to keep looking for the names, keep killing until he can get to the McHenry's."

"I looked through all my father's reports, there was nothing in them about Visily Romani or a rescue." I looked back down at the file.

"I know. They knew what kind of man Romani was and they hid the original document so he couldn't find it. I went to your mom and asked if he'd ever sent any letters to you in that time frame. She gave me some of the letters and I ran a test on them. Underneath the writing is more writing; it's the original documents of his findings.

The names were encrypted but I had a friend of mine who has a knack for cracking codes unscramble them. On this page I wrote the names of the people in invisible ink that can only be seen with this light." He handed me a small light that was attached to a pen and when I clicked it on I saw the names written across the page.

"Zach," I said in awe. "This is incredible."

"That's not all, in one of his letters it talks about different numbers throughout the writing, and when I put them all together and ran them through my friend's software program a bank box in Rome popped up.

Since I wanted this to be a surprise for you I asked your mom to come with me and we opened the box. Inside were several documents on Romani. Your father was following him, gathering information, and the information in these files is enough to put him away for the other crimes we thought he did but we never had enough to charge him with. He'll go away for life with these documents, your father knew what he was doing." I stood up from my chair and wrapped my arms around Zach; he wrapped his arms around me.

"Why didn't he kidnap me when I was younger, why wait until now?"

"He probably wanted to wait until you were older because he thought you would remember it more and understand what he wanted more than you could when you were younger. I don't actually know, but I'd assume that he probably wanted you when you were eighteen, but then you went into the army and were untouchable." I nodded and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Zach, for everything. You found out why my dad died and you helped put away the man who killed him, so thank you." He never said anything, but I didn't need him to say anything, he'd already said all that he needed to.

**Author's Note: That's the final chapter, everyone; I hope you liked it. There won't be a sequel; I feel it wrapped up everything it needed to in this chapter.**

**I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, for those of you who celebrate it, and I hope you have a great rest of your week.**

**Quote: "When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand." – Henri Nowwen. **

**-GymGirl904.**


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